Fate Stay Night: A New Beginning
by G4MEFRE4K
Summary: It was over, Shirou Emiya was half dead and still dying, the Great Gates were closing but he didn't want it to end this way, Shirou makes an accidental wish and is sent back to the beginning of the war! But is it his war? Stronger Shirou!, Shirou x Harem. Updated on 2/21/16 (CHAPTER 11 HAS BEEN FIXED!) I will remove this once Chapter 12 is out.
1. Chapter 1: Repeat

"Normal Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with Fate Stay Night or anything else created by Type-Moon.**

* * *

Shirou won.

...

But at what cost?

He stumbled past the cold, dead body of Kotomine Kirei. His legs continue to screech horribly, the swords between his joints nearly ripped his arms and legs apart. He's in pain, all he wanted was to see Sakura again, to hold her in his arms. He could feel his mind breaking bit-by-bit down to the cellular level. His mind was only steel, everything was numb, every step felt like a mile, but nothing else seemed to matter at this moment.

It's all thanks to the white-haired girl standing before him.

"I—ya..." Shirou whispered out. He couldn't remember her, why was it so hard?

"You said an older brother protects his little sister, right?... I'm the older sister so I have to protect my younger brother." She said sadly.

Shirou's mind was in turmoil, he was digging through what was left of his mind until it hit him.

"I...llya...!" He remembered her name! Kiritsugu's real blood relative. The girl who was left alone because he came and stole him... a girl who has silver hair and red eyes, that's a bit older than him. Panic stuck Shirou so deeply, that he felt his very core shake with dread.

"Illya, Illya, Illya, Illya, **ILLYA!**" He screamed with the last of his breath, before falling to the unforgiving ground.

He couldn't reach her, he couldn't hear her voice anymore, he couldn't see anything in this light. But at that last moment it clears. He sees Illya turn and smile one last time goodbye, soon shutting the gate to the Great Holy Grail, ending this horrible nightmare, and giving her life to save the him and possibly the world...

That's how it _should_ have happened.

Shirou grit his teeth, remembering his feeling of anger and regret. This is it?! This is how it ends?! No! Not for Emiya Shirou! With the last of his strength he mutters these last words. "I... I can't stop now, everyone still needs me!" His broken eyes, filled with a burning ember to keep pushing forward, look to the sky.

"I..." He raises his bloody arm and points it to the sky.

"I..." He clenches his hand into a strong fist.

"I will change **FATE**!" Darkness consumed his fading form.

* * *

Shirou was falling in a void, it was nothing but pure darkness, he couldn't feel, hear or see. It felt like an eternity until he finally hit something, it was cold and damp, eveything was silent, was he dead? He just wanted to drift off to sleep until he heard those familiar words.

"I am Servant... Saber." a voice declared in the darkness.

Shirou froze when he heard those words.

It's impossible! _She _was dead, he killed _her._

Shirou slowly opened his eyes and he saw _her _again. The beautiful knight, _her_ blue dress and shining armor, _her_ emotionless face, _her_ golden hair shaped into a perfect bun...

Arturia Pendragon, his **S****ervant**.

"Upon your summoning, I have come forth." She said calmly, he was actually happy hearing those words, he thought he was going crazy. "I ask of you: are you my Master?" She said.

Shirou is finally able to move again, he wordlessly nodded his head.

Saber looks down to the Command Seals on his left hand...wait his left hand? He finally noticed he has his arm! His own flesh and blood, not the tan and muscular arm wrapped with the Shroud of Martin to keep _his _influence away. But something was off. He still felt the constriction of the Shroud, yet it wasn't there. He still felt the slight pain and build-up of prana.

"Yes, you summoned me..." She said. "...and as a Saber, I answered your call. My sword will be at your side from here on forward. From now on, whatever fate you choose will be mine as well. The connection with us has now been set." As soon as she finished she stiffened and leaped out the door.

"Stop!" Shirou yells. Damn it! what the hell was going on?! He looks to the small red emblem on his hand and gives a small sigh.

_"Heh... no rest for the weary, huh...?" _He asked, knowing he would get no answer back, he moves to leave the shed.

Shirou runs out the door and witnessed the battle between two titans. There is a man in a blue skin tight suit with silver lines running through it, with large metal pauldrons He has short blue hair with a small pony tail, he also has piercing red eyes, the eyes of a powerful warrior.

But none of those mattered when he saw the crimson spear.

Its barbed tip.

Its unquenchable bloodlust.

Shirou didn't even notice he said. "Trace On..."

...

Judging the concept of creation.

Hypothesizing the basic structure.

Duplicating the composition material.

Imitating the skill of its making.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.

Reproducing the accumulated years.

Excelling every manufacturing process.

...

Shirou suddenly felt a weight in his hand he saw the same spear that man, no Cú Chulainn has.

The spear of the Irish Hero.

**Gáe Bolg.**

While Shirou was distracted with his new discovery, Saber and Lancer were clashing, Lancer with his lighting fast strikes and Saber blocking and parrying each tremendous strike. The ground cracked, the air shook. Everything else would have been obliterated if caught in their fight. Each swing her blade easily matched Lancer's, even if he were to attack at an impossible angle, she would calmly block and counter. He could barely see them, their movements were too fast for a normal human, they moved so fast that they created afterimages. Soon enough Lancer was forced to leap back with each of Saber's swings, quickly running forward, she gets close enough for a sideways slash aimed for his head, Lancer blocked with the shaft of his spear but from the strength of the hit, it causes him to be slowly pushed back. With a battle cry he pushes back Saber, causing her feet to slide against the floor. The two warriors stare each other down, ready to strike again.

"Tch!" Lancer growled. "Stop cheating! Using that invisible weapon!"

Saber responded by leaping toward Lancer and releasing sword swing, after sword swing, forcing him to continusly block each bladed strike and he once again leaps back. Lancer grimaced, each strike was strong, too strong for someone with such a small body, he had to finish this quickly.

"Tell me something Saber... that weapon, it's a sword right?" Lancer asked with a small grin.

Saber calmly stares at him. "It doesn't matter what it is, but it could be anything, an axe, a mace, or even a spear. But all that matters is that I will defeat you right here and now." Saber said.

Lancer was silent for a moment until he started to chuckle, his chuckles then turned into full blown laughter. The laughter grew louder and louder until he calmed down. "HA! HA! Ha! Ha, heh, heh, You? Defeat me? Don't make me laugh!" Lancer said.

Saber's calm eyes continue to stare at him. "You talk too much, if you are a Servant let your lance do the talking." Saber said coldly.

Lancer started to grin, a madman's grin. "Fine! If you want my lance, you can have IT!" The spear began to warp, and glow crimson red. Incredible power oozing off the barbed tip.

_"Huh?!"_ Saber felt the build up of prana and stood ready, waiting for the attack. She didn't notice, but her movments were currently restricted by the spear, one of its abilities is able to constrict the mana in the air, and because _she is_ a being comprised of mana... the situation is not going in Saber's favor.

Meanwhile Shirou finally noticed the build up of prana. _"What amazing magical power!" _Shirou said, he knew that much power could only mean one thing, Lancer's **Noble Phantasm**.

"What do I do?" Shirou mumbled. He definitely couldn't block that move, if he were to say, try running stupidly infront of Saber, Gáe Bolg's ability to "reverse the nature of casuality" wouldn't allow him to block the spear. Also, if Lancer were to turn his attention to Shirou in the slightest... he would be dead before he even moved.

Shirou was running out of ideas until what he needed was right there in his hands, Gáe Bolg. Shirou needed to be ready, he needed to have absolute concentration for this.

"Goodbye, Saber! It's been fun!" Lancer said. A bloodthirsty grin plastered on his face.

**"GÁE!"** Lancer shouted. This is it!

**"GÁE!"** Shirou said. Almost!

**"BOLG!" **Lancer threw the spear aimed for Saber's heart.

**"BOLG!" **Shirou roared, two crimson spears, one aimed to kill, the other to protect.

Just as Lancer's spear was in Saber's range, Shirou's own spear slammed into Lancer's. Usually, Lancer's very will is used to, "Throw the spear, or thrust the spear." Quickly leading to, "The heart being pierced." If he were to put _his _will to stop the ability of, "The lance was thrust, so the heart must have been pierced." He _should_ be able to stop atleast the second part of the curse, since the spear has already been thrown.

But... the ability of "cause and effect" is a fickle thing to mess with. Shirou wasn't able to reverse the entirety of the curse. The twin spears met with one another. Shirou's spear soon shattered into tiny shards, then into dust, unable to withstand the force of meeting a real Noble Phantasm.

Lancer's spear was sent into the cloudless sky, spinning a couple of times in the air... until it returned to it's course and once again became a red streak in the sky. But, its trajectory was not aimed at Saber.

It was flying toward Shirou.

Now, Shirou was painfully reminded that he couldn't entirely rewrite the curse that Lancer sent out. He already took enough of a gamble with connecting the two spears hoping that when they connect, it would rewrite the "cause and effect" ability, and thankfully, it paid off.

Now the hard part came next. He certainly couldn't send the spear to pierce Saber, and he didn't think that inanimate objects, like the ground, or his house, would be strong enough to change it. So... he reworded it to, "The spear has been thrust, so _Shirou_ must be stabbed." Or something, things got really fuzzy with the spear after that, so he had to hope for the best.

...Yes. Yes he knew it was stupid, very stupid. But it had to be done, he couldn't redirect the spear to attack Lancer, he would probably just dismiss the spear, and/or just rewritten the curse and attack Saber again. If he didn't do such a stupid tactic, Saber would have been critically injured, or worse, dead.

So, he just stood there, waiting for the damage to be dealt. He didn't move, he was probably already pierced by the crimson spear.

He didn't notice the spear pierce into his stomach. It was a strange thing really, he saw the crimson spear stab him in the gut, he saw the blood within his body spill out of the large wound.

But... he didn't _feel _any pain, it felt numb to say the least.

That's until he felt the horrible pain that came next. It felt like a thousand sharp needles were traveling along, and seemingly destroying his body. He didn't scream, the pain made him forget how to express it.

He fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, the only thing holding him up was the cursed spear, acting like a demented crutch. Saber was immediately shooken out of her stupor, and finally noticed the condition of her Master.

"Master!" She quickly ran to his side and quickly, but gently removed the jagged spear with a quick yank. Saber grimaced as she felt the jagged tips of the spear damage her Master more. She quickly helped him up and turned a lone eye to glare at Lancer's surprised face. _"The name of that spear! He must be..." _Saber concluded.

There was dead silence, the only thing that could be heard was Shirou's heavy, labored breathing.

"You..." Lancer is shaking in anger, until he abruptly stops. "You still alive, kid?" He asked out of curiosity. "Heh, not bad kid, not bad at all." Lancer looks at Saber. "You have a pretty good Master, he could be quite the challenge, if he had better training". Lancer turn's around and starts to walk away. Saber was about to charge forward, but remembered her Master's condition.

"You're running away?! Stop being a coward and fight!" Saber said, Lancer turns and smirks.

"Sorry, my cowardly Master told me to only observe, but I did get a good fight, your Master can be a scary guy with that high end projection magic..." Lancer frowns slightly, the brat was able to replicate his spear, granted it was not perfect but it was damn close. He felt his blood rush with excitement, so many Servants and so little time! He only hoped that his Master would let him fight in this damn war...

That reminded him, the bastard Archer, no matter how much he could crawl under his skin, was still such a great fighter. He looked at the red-haired boy. _"Perhaps I misjudged the brat, I can only hope he lives long enough so I can fight him again..."_

"See Ya!" He turns around and is about to leap away.

"Stop!" A different voice is heard, one that is still strong, only sounding slightly winded. He turned back to look at the red-haired boy, and is actually surprised to see his golden-brown eyes burning with such intensity, he felt that he should immediately respect him as a fellow warrior.

"When we meet again, Lancer. I would like to fight you again, no cheap tricks, no special abilities. We will only use raw, physical strength to see who comes out first!" Shirou declared. He didn't know why he said this, but it felt... right, it felt like what he was supposed to say to the Irish Hero of legend.

A different expression found its way of Lancer's face. His bloodthirsty grin, and murderous eyes softened. For an instant, he felt... complete admiration for his enemy. This era had proven quite disappointing, but the boy has proven himself to be a worthy huma-, no a fellow _warrior_.

"Heh, I like the way you think, kid! Remember, this is only a temporary retreat for now. Try to stay alive, until we can fight again!" He wordlessly leaps away with an excited grin on his face.

_"I-I'm counting on it, Lancer..." _Shirou thought to himself. He painfully shut his eyes, and nearly collapsed to the ground, until small, but strong hands grabbed him, and gently lowered him to the ground. He blinked his eyes and they slowly made their way up to Saber's.

There's an uncomfortable silence, both just staring at each other until Shirou breaks the silence... with the dumbest thing anyone could say, "So... how are you?"

* * *

Saber is looking at the strange boy with auburn hair and large golden-brown eyes. "That was incredibly stupid of you!" Saber scolded. "Don't you know what that spear does! More importantly, why did you interfere?! This was completely suicide, Master!"

She was this close to smacking him across the head with her metal gauntlet. She saw him flinch a couple of times. Good. It seemed that he _atleast_ understood the stupidity of his action.

He pauses for a moment and carefully sat up, grunting a little from the pain.

Shirou speaks up moments later. "...I couldn't help it, you needed help and if I didn't step in you would have been injured, or worse!" Shirou yelled back.

Saber frowns, he didn't learn at all. "Be that as it may, you are **Human **and humans can't stand up to **Servants. **You would more of a hindrance than help, Master".

"Master? Servants? What is that anyway?" Shirou hopes he sounded convincing enough.

That seemed to curb her attention, Saber gained a look of surprise, and confusion. "You don't know of the Holy Grail War?" She waited for any clarification, but got none.

"...I see you really don't know anything do you?... Very well The Holy Grail War, it is a competition between 7 Masters, each searching for the Holy Grail, for their one true wish. Where their Servants humbly serve, protect and fight for their Master." She pointed her armored finger at Shirou's fallen form.

"You Master! You were chosen as one of the Masters to fight!" Shirou was silent, not by the information, but for something else. _"Something's off, I don't remember this occurring before... what the hell is going on?"_

Saber sees his silence as a way to continue. "Well Master?"

"Shirou." He finally said.

"What?"

"It's Shirou, call me Shirou."

Saber contemplates his words, she then smiles. "Shirou then, yes it sounds better that way." She said.

He sees her still waiting for his answer. "I won't stand on the sidelines, while you fight Saber." He sees her try to protest. "I know that there will be very strong opponents, some that might even be stronger than you, but I can't stand to see my new friend hurt protecting someone like me. I will run away and let you take over if the opponent is too strong."

She pauses for a moment and a small smile graces her face. "Yes I agree to these rules, but if the opponent is too strong you run, okay?"

Shirou smiles. "Okay."

Shirou notices her smile and he sees how beautiful she is, her features soften, her stance relaxes and her eyes are no longer cold and strict, but warm and kind. He shakes his head. _"Why am I thinking of things like that...?"_

Saber pauses and her stance soon turns rigid. "It seems that another Servant is approaching, stay here and recover, Master." She runs off at speed he could barely see.

"Wait! Saber!" Damn it, again?! Shirou needed to catch up. He needed to stop her, Shirou looks at his left arm, he didn't use the arm for 2 reasons. One, his own circuits were enough for the Noble Phantasm, if only barely, and Two, he didn't know how to get the 'Shroud' off his arm.

Shirou hears the sounds of clashing weaponry a distance away. Damn! He needed to do this now! He did what he was best at, Shirou used **S****tructural Grasp** on his arm and was startled at what he saw. He saw that the Shroud was still there and the same with _that guy's _arm. They were in a form of pure prana, his real arm was like a second skin, like a glove to a hand. Well that was a lot simpler than he thought. Shirou closed his eyes and visualized the Shroud as he 'Loosened the Cloth'.

Pain.

He felt the familiar pain start again, how it gives him a great boost of power. How it was killing him and helping him at the same time. How _his _influence was trying to rewrite and destroy his very soul.

Shirou grits his teeth he felt the swords under his skin digging out of his body. Slowly killing him from the inside out.

He would have to push on.

Shirou lifted himself off the ground, and used **R****einforcement **to strengthen his body to the max. The ground cracked when he took off, he was speeding along and finally saw Saber slash _him _across the chest, he then saw Rin call _him _back, but what surprised Shirou is that Saber charged at Rin, he saw her backpedal to try to get away. He only hoped that he could make it in time.

Shirou charged forward again, 'Loosening the Cloth' a little more. Calling upon more power. He was soon in front of Rin, ready to defend her. He traces a sword and pumped more prana into his arms and blocked Saber's swing.

He felt his arms groan under the pressure, the power behind that attack caused the ground to indent from the tremendous force. He felt his wound painfully, and uncomfortably grating together. To his annoyance, just from that slightly distracting thought, his arms bent even more, almost completely breaking his guard.

The nameless sword, no matter how ancient and powerful it was, started to chip and crack, just one more push and the sword would break. As suddenly as the attack happened it stopped as well. It seems that Saber didn't fully comprehend what happened, one second she was dealing with the other Master and the next she saw the blur of auburn hair and the clash of steel against steel.

"Master! Why would you defend her?! She's the enemy!" Saber shouted, how could her Master be so stupid!

Shirou didn't here anything, right now all he felt was pain, horrible pain, he felt his existence fading away. He dropped the nameless sword, it clattered uselessly on the ground until it shatters into dust.

Pain. Pain. **Pain!**

**Rip it off!**

**Stop now!**

**Pull it back on!**

**You will die!**

Shirou ignored the small voice and visualizes the Shroud and 'Tightens the Cloth'. Shirou breathing slowly calmed and he feels the swords recede back into his soul, back to _him. _The horrible pain now a dull ache. Shirou feels a warm hand touch his face, he opened his eyes and sees the worried face of Saber.

"Are you alright, Shirou?" She asks calmly, she could have sworn she saw _something_ coming out of his neck.

Shirou smiles. "Yes I'm alright, the projection of Lancer's spear took a lot out of me, as well as blocking your sword, man you're really strong Saber!" He said with a smile.

He saw a slight blush on her face for the complement. "That was still reckless of you Master, but besides that, she is the enemy! Why would you protect her! She needs to be eliminated!"

"She's not... never mind that reminds me Saber... I want to add to the rules that we made before, I don't want you to kill any of the Masters in the war Saber, only if it's the last option. I want there to be little to no casualties, I don't want there to be meaningless death." Especially if _she_ gets involved...

Saber looks at him for a moment and nods her head. He smiles even more, he felt a huge weigh lift off of him.

"By the way, Shirou. How is your wound?" She asked with slight worry.

"Hmm...? Don't worry about it, Saber. It doesn't hurt anymore." She didn't look convinced in the slightest.

"If it is fine, will you let me look at it, Shirou?" She asked.

"What? But I said it's fine, Saber." Shirou said stubbornly.

She grit her teeth in annoyance. "Let me see it, Shirou!" She yelled.

"No, Saber! I said it was fine!" He yelled back, really! If she was going to yell about something as unimportant as this, then he wasn't going to be quiet about it.

"Tch! Stubborn man!" Using her superior strength and speed she lifted his shirt, almost ripping it off in the process.

"Hey! Saber!" She ignored him as she watched his wound closely. It was... surprising to say the least. The large and jagged wound she expected to see, was only a small gash, a complete contrast to the deadly wound before. But why...?

She soon felt her hands quickly being pushed away.

"What the hell, Saber?! You don't do stuff like that!" She only looked away and huffed in response.

"How am I being unreasonable, Shirou? If you weren't so stubborn, I wouldn't have to go through such drastic measures."

"Well I-" He stops when he hears laughter behind him.

"Man, you two look like an old married couple." The voice said.

The third presence finally makes herself known. Saber immediately puts herself in-front of Shirou.

"Good evening Emiya-kun, I'll have to repay you for that." She said with a deathly calm voice.

He began to smile. "Hello... Tohsaka."

**Author's Notes:**

**Hello! My name is G4MEFRE4K and I'm new here, well not new to this site, but new to writing, also sorry if the characters sound odd or weird but writing a story is new to me and I hope that you can help me out with this. If any of this sounds familiar I'm using references from the anime, manga, the visual novel and another great author named James D. Fawkes.**

**Shirou's Harem:**

**Arturia**

**Rider**

**Sakura**

**Rin**

**Illya**

**(Who knows? Maybe more will come!)**

**Well hope to see you in the next chapter, Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2: Familiar Faces

"Regular Speech"

_"Thoughts"_

"Shirou, you know this girl?" Saber asks, she looks to Shirou who begins to shift uncomfortably from her gaze.

"Well... not really, but we go to the same school together and she is the number one student there, I would have to be a complete idiot to not know her... and I would be lying if I didn't say I admired her a little." He admits. He looks at her, and notices she's acting strange.

Rin turned her head slightly and coughed into her hand, a bit of red was present on her face.

"H-How generous of you to say Emiya-kun." She said uncertainly, and just like that Rin's true colors form. She suddenly becomes deathly serious. "But more importantly _Emiya-kun_, do you know what your involved in? How much responsibility you have to carry?" She looks at him questionably.

Shirou had to lie _again, _but it was for the best. "Not very much, all I know is what Saber told me, of how there are 7 Masters and how each are chosen to compete, how they fight to the death with their Servants to obtain the Holy Grail and get there wish granted."

Rin was silent for a moment. "Well it's not as much as I hoped to hear but you at least got the basic gist of what's happening. Let's go inside, I'll tell you more about the war then." She slowly walks ahead of them.

As Shirou starts to move he feels Saber walk up beside him and grab his arm. "Shirou, it seems that she doesn't have any ill intentions against you." She suddenly gets even more serious. "Master you should listen to what she has to say, everything you learn will help you win the war." As soon as she finished she walks away.

_"Win the war huh? This time it will be different, this time I will save everyone I love with no_ _casualties_._"_ Shirou looks at his left hand and slowly makes a strong fist, he looks to the sky for a bit and then walks away. What Shirou didn't notice was a certain Red Knight watches him.

**Archer** narrows his eyes when he watches him go, _"You are interesting Emiya Shirou, something is off about you and I intend to find out what it is."_ He fades away from the area.

* * *

Everyone was slowly walking to the Emiya Household, when they arrived Rin notices the window, that who know what happened was broken, probably something to do with Lancer. Rin walks up to it and before his very eyes the glass reforms as if it never broke in the first place.

"There. Good as new, you should be thankful for that Emiya-kun." She paused for a bit. "Though you probably could have done that yourself." She said in an afterthought.

Shirou rubs the back of his head. "Sorry I can't do any of those things." He said sheepishly.

Rin immediately halts her steps and does a complete 180 turn.

"What!" She shreaks.

Shirou winces with the tone. "How could you not know! That's this simplest thing they teach you!"

"Well... I never had anyone to teach me, all I had was my old man and he barely taught me anything." He remembered when he had to pester Kiritsugu almost everyday for him to finally teach him something.

Now that he thought about it, why didn't he just never say he was a magic user in the first place? Then he would have never bothered him so much about it in the first place...

Rin furrowed her brows. "Do you at least know your origin or the 5 elements?"

"Nope."

"Do you know how to make defensive walls against other magi?"

"No sorry."

"How about a magic circle?"

"Maybe...?" That answer seemed to make her angrier.

"WELL WHAT CAN YOU DO?!" She screams.

Shirou's ears explode and his mind goes blank. _"I think I'm deaf..." _He quickly recovered and looked to her with a serious expression, stopping her rant about him somehow being worse than his dubbed title of the "Third-Rate Magus".

"Well I know how to do **Projection** and **Reinforcement**, and you saw them in action. Shirou stated._  
_

Rin was silent thinking about the right words. "Well you seem to grasp those two techniques well enough where they can't harm you, and you can utilize it in combat to a very high degree, BUT you are still a complete novice, you don't even know the most basic of basic spells of a magi."

Shirou rolls his eyes. "Well we can't all be like the great and powerful Tohsaka."

She smirks and walks to the dining room.

* * *

Shirou prepares tea for everyone there, it seems like it will be a long night.

"Alright I'm as ready as I'll ever be." He said.

"As you know 7 Masters are chosen to become Masters to compete and achieve the Holy Grail, Also magi can only become Masters. Like me and I guess you too are magi, I still can't believe you of all people became a Master..."She grumbles the last part.

"For each Master they get 3 command signs, 3 absolute commands that the Servant can never disobey. The power that each command seal holds is almost as powerful as true magic, for example if you are in danger and you are away from your Servant you could teleport her using one of your command seals. Furthermore, once you use all if your command seals then your Servant will no longer serve you, their power is incomparable to a mere human."

She pauses to sip her tea. "Now on to the actual Servants, the Servants are actually spirits of legendary hero's summoned across time. The past, present and even future, though highly unlikely for that last one." She mussed.

"Anyway, they are beings who were recognized by their great feats and are taken to the "Throne of Heroes" when they die."

"The Holy Grail divides them into several different classes that can be summoned into this world..."

**Saber.**

**Lancer.**

**Archer.**

**Rider.**

**Berserker.**

**Caster.**

**Assassin.**

"These 7 classes are distributed and given to the most similar Master. Once that is done they will fight for their Master to survive and attempt to kill the other Masters for the grail." Rin finishes the rest of her tea and gets up.

"Well I best be going now Emiya-kun, but you should come too." Shirou sees red for a moment he was knew where he was going, he was going to see **him** again.

"Where are we going?" He asked. He begins to grip the table, causing it to groan from the pressure. She turns to look at him.

"We're going to see the man that oversees the war."

* * *

Shirou, Saber and Rin slowly walk to there destination, Rin keeps glancing back at Saber. "Um, Emiya-kun couldn't you have tried to hide Saber at least a little?" Saber is standing there in her shining armor just watching, waiting for the outcome of this talk. Shirou shrugs.

"I didn't see the point of making her wear anything I have, and everything I have will look strange on her. What you expect to me to do? Embarrass her and make her wear, like a raincoat or something? Plus it's the middle of the night, so not many people will see her anyway." Rin thought about it for moment and nods her head, Saber smiles a bit at what her Master has said.

"It's your choice..." Rin said.

"We're here this is Kotomine Church." Rin state, Shirou grits his teeth, he clenches his fists trying not to destroy that damn place with every step he took.

"Master I will stay out here and make sure no other enemies appear." Shirou nods his head and quickly goes inside with Rin.

He didn't like it.

He never liked this damn place. Besides the uneasy feeling of death and malice whenever he decided to come here... he always had a feeling of... emptiness that matched his own that was hidden deep within his core. He looked around slightly, seeing that it's still the same.

_"Hmph..."_ A fake, empty place for a fake, empty man.

How fitting.

"Kirei! Where are you? I brought the Seventh Master." Rin yelled with an annoyed tone.

Shirou sees **him** again he sees **h****is **false smile he sees **h****i****s** dead eyes.

**Kotomine Kirei.**

"Welcome, young one... I am Kotomine Kirei." He continued to smile with that fake smile.

Shirou had to lie this time too. He didn't give a damn. "So... you are the supervisor for this war?" Shirou asked calmly, Shirou may look calm but it took every bit of willpower, every last bit to not Excalibur him in the face.

He grins, the bastard _grins_... "Exactly, tell me young one what is your name?"

"Shirou... Emiya."

His eyes widen slightly. "Emiya... I see so you are the last Master." He chuckles lightly. "Well Emiya Shirou do you accept your role as the Seventh Master?" He watched as Shirou pauses.

"Well... I do for the most part, but I still need help as to understand what exactly is happening, what I heard for Saber and Rin helped a lot but I need more information." Kotomine stares at him for a bit more and grins.

"Very well Shirou Emiya. A word of advice, becoming a Master is not something handed down, it doesn't matter if this was a mistake or not because you were chosen by the Holy Grail, The Seven Masters and Servant pairs participating in this war were not chosen because they wanted to be; they are chosen to determine who is the best of the best, who is worthy enough to possess the Holy Grail. The Grail can grant any wish that you desire..." He looks to the moonlit ceiling.

"...10 years ago in the 4th Holy Grail War the winner was a corrupted Master, he ended up causing a tragedy that killed many innocent lives." He watches as Shirou is silent, he unconsciously begins to remember the painful memory.

"Do you understand now Emiya Shirou? What position you are in?" Shirou slowly looks up to Kotomine Kirei. Even if he knew and forgave his Foster-Father for causing the inevitable fire that happened 10 years ago, it still didn't stop his heart from aching.

"Yes... I understand, I'll do it, I'll become the final Master. I'll do it to stop another tragedy from ever happening again." He felt his boiling rage dissapearing for a bit. He could still feel the phantom pains from Kotomine's powerful attack.

Kirei nods his head. "Very well." Kirei said. "The Seven Masters have been chosen, I now declare the start of the Fifth Holy Grail War!"

"Were finished here Emiya, let's go."

As Shirou is leaving. "Rejoice, my son, for at last your wish will be granted!" His voice booms in the empty church.

Shirou just ignored him as he walks out.

Kotomine watches the empty space that he left. He soon began to chuckle to himself, remembering the incredible amount of hatred and malice that was radiating off of Shirou Emiya's own empty eyes. Even if he hid it very well, it was a clear as an open book to him.

_"Quite interesting, Emiya Shirou... perhaps you can answer the question's I seek. What your father failed in, I hope you can succeed in... " _He turned to look back to the moon, watching as it shines brightly in the sky.

Shirou notices that Saber is still standing watch, she is quick and ready to strike. His eyes meet with hers and he smiles slightly, the anger quickly leaving his body as soon as he saw her. "Come on Saber, there is nothing to do let's go home."

She nods slightly and turns to leave with her Master.

They all soon walk in a comfortable silence the only noise heard was their own footsteps. "I've done all that I could, I think that you can survive on your own now." Shirou gives her a warm smile.

"Thank you Tohsaka, I couldn't have done it without you." He puts a hand on her shoulder, and squeezes it slightly. "If you didn't step in before, I would have been dead before I knew it. Thank you, really..." She has a surprised expression on her face, and quickly pushes him away from her.

Again, she's acting very strange in Shirou's perspective. She has a very large blush on her face.

"H-Hmmph, w-whatever it's not like I did it because I wanted to. I was repaying a debt, besides after this were enemies again!" She growled, why does he have to have such an innocent and... cute smile?!

Shirou grins. "Sure, sure..." He sees her face gets slightly more red for some reason... somethings off, why does this feel so familiar?

Suddenly everything becomes too quiet. Shirou spins around and hears the quiet giggling and small footsteps, to his surprise he sees _her _the small girl in the violet clothes.

"Hello again Onii-chan~!" It's _her_, the girl with white hair and red eyes.

**"Illya..." **Shirou mumbles.

* * *

"Master! stay back!" Saber immediately stands infront of him.

Illya grabs the sides of her jacket and bows slightly. "Hello my name is Illyasviel Von Einzbern."

Rin instantly tenses, her eyes widen in fear. "What did you say?!"

"Rin you know her?" Shirou asks quietly, he needed to stall a bit for time.

"Yeah, the Einzbern's they are a family of Magi who have desired the acquisition of the Holy Grail for a very long time, they have always sent an Einzbern to each Grail War."

"So she's a Master too?" Shirou asks, he couldn't believe it! It's her, Illya! the girl who sacrificed herself for him, he just wants to hold her in his arms, to hug her and never let go. To make sure she doesn't _ever_ go away.

Never again.

"That's right Onii-chan~! But getting the Grail is not the only thing I'm looking forward to... I'm also here to **k****ill **you as well. I've been waiting for this day for a long time Onii-chan... that's why I'll be sure to kill you as slowly as possible." Illya snaps her fingers.

"Come Berserker!"

There stood the gray giant, the beast that can survive numerous times without backing down, the one who completed the 12 great labors that would surely kill anyone else.

The only one crazy enough to grab, and forcibly rip the living shadow off his body.

**Hercules.**

**"..." **He stood there watching, waiting for the command, exactly like a rabid dog on a weak chain that's ready to snap.

"Enough talk! Go Berserker! Destroy them all!"

**"!"** He roars, shaking the area, and charges, each step sinking into the concrete ground like sand. Shirou sees the Blackened Berserker again, charging toward him at alarming speeds.

"Master! Stay Back!" Saber blocks Berserkers over head strike, the power makes Saber slide back.

"Ugh!" Every hit is either blocked or evaded and each hit that missed destroys walls, pavement and cars like a hot knife through butter. She's forced to block another earth shattering strike. With a mighty shout, she pushed him off with a burst of wind. He's sent flying into the air, but he quickly fixes himself mid-air, he lands on the ground with a heavy thud. He quickly raises his weapon and charges at Saber.

"He's swinging that thing like a toy!" Rin yelled.

While the battle is taking place Rin is watching with great interest. _"Incredible! Berserker classes are provided a boost of strength in exchange for there sanity, and normally Servants like these are supposed to severely lack in the mental department, but to think someone like this exists!"_

She then looks to Saber. _"But what he's fighting is no joke either, a master swordsman of her degree, will use her magical energy contained all around her body and launch a counterattack of super human speed and power to take him down!"_

Saber looks back while she's holding back one of Berserker's hits. _"Now Master, Hurry!"_

Rin grabs Shirou's hand. "Let's go Emiya-kun, we have to get out of here!"

"Wait! Rin we can't just leave her here!" He resists her attempt.

"All were doing is getting in the way Shirou-kun, Saber is fully capable of finding an opening and delivering the final blow on Berserker."

"..." Shirou is silent. _"I know I can defeat him! I just need to get closer!"_

"Where do you think your going Onii-chan? It doesn't matter where you run off to, because you will never defeat my Berserker! I mean he is Hercules after all, the Greatest Hero of Ancient Greece!"

Rin paled a little. _"Hercules?! this is bad!"_

"Did you know that Servants are spirits of heroes who were summoned to the present world? You had to have known that Rin, anyway the extent of their existence here is influenced by how much they are known across the world, Therefore if the Servant is well known around the world the stronger they are as a Servant. That is why no one can ever match my Hercules!"

As soon as she finishes speaking, an object is sent flying next to Shirou and Rin, as soon as the dust clears they see Saber is on the ground, blood begins to drip down her face.

"Saber!" Damn it!

"Ma...Master..."

Berserker charges again, Saber immediately gets up and blocks each swing, but with each swing Saber is getting pushed back more and more. Saber is losing, Rin tries to help by sending a Gandr Shot at him, but it bounces uselessly off his skin, With each mighty swing Saber is forced to block and evade more and more, Saber again is forced to block an over-head strike, the force of the hit breaks the pavement and forces her to one knee. With another roar, Berserker quickly redirects his blade and slams her to the wall, she coughs blood.

"Please... get away, Master..." Berserker roars and charges once again, he raises his massive weapon, ready for one more swing.

Shirou sees that swing will kill her. Shirou could have done many things, he could have attempted to block Berserker's strike, as stupid as that may be. He could have sent sword after sword against him, he could have even used Gáe Bolg, the demonic spear still fresh in his mind.

Shirou ignored all of those to simply push her out of the way.

"...Eh?" Saber feels warm blood splatter her face, yet there is no pain, she then sees Shirou standing where she once stood, with a large chunk of his stomach ripped open. She felt sick, she could see his broken bones, ripped up intestines, each pump of his beating heart made blood squirt out of the horrible wound.

"S-Shirou...?" She whispers silently.

He coughed a large amount of blood. Did the mad beast clip on of his lungs? _"Heh... it happened again huh? Me and my stupid brain always defending others." _Shirou turns to Saber who is still in shock. He shakily raises his hand and cups her face.

"Well Saber... it seems that I already broke your promise...sorry...abo...ut...that..." Shirou falls in a pool of his own blood.

"Master, Why did you do this!"

"Emiya-kun!"

Rin sees that they are completely defenseless against Illya and Berserker.

Illya's eyes are open wide with shock, she almost wanted to check on him as well, seeing how he would give his life to protect his Servant, a mere tool to help aid in achieving the Holy Grail... it made her doubt what her "Grandfather" had told her about Shirou Emiya.

Keyword, _almost_.

"...This is boring. We're leaving, come Berser-" as soon as she was about to finish those words everyone hears a screeching noise like when two swords are grating against each other. Saber sees a shadow behind her, she slowly looks back and her eyes widen in shock.

Shirou is getting up and slowly walking closer to Berserker, but something looks off, where the gaping hole should be is covered by what looks like plated armor, but the blood's still heavily seeping through.

"Master, what are you doing?!" Saber attempts to move, but she couldn't, her wounds prevented her from doing so.

"Stop, Emiya-kun!" She would try and move, but with the mad beast just a few hundred feet from where she stood, she was rooted to the ground in fear.

Shirou spits out a bit of blood. "Where the hell do you think your going? How about round 2... Eh, Berserker?"

Shirou rips off his left sleeve and imagines the 'Shroud' and he immediately takes it off.

**Pain.**

Shirou feels his body breaking down, he feels the swords skewer his body. He pumps as much Prana as he could into this broken body of his.

He closes his eyes "Trace On..."

_***CRACK***_

"Guh!" Something important disappeared in his mind. Something... meaningful, but that didn't matter right now! He had to image the one weapon that killed Berserker 9 times in one go, the same weapon that gave him the strength to do so.

When Shirou opens his eyes he sees the same weapon that Berserker has, and with that, he owns its secret.

_"Damn, this isn't even close to Berserker's at all, it's not even as good as the one I traced before...I'll have to make do with what I got!"_

**"9 Lives Blade Works!"** Shirou lifts the mighty weapon and charges at Berserker, with an air shaking roar, Berserker swings his weapon. They begin to slam into Shirou's, causing shock waves to explode from the air. Causing Saber, Rin and Illya to be sent to the ground just from the air pressure.

He feels his fingers break, his arms shatter. He notices the copied weapon begin to crack apart. He tries to move as far back as possible, Berserker's sword gets painfully close and it grazes his chest.

From someone like Berserker, this would equal a direct hit.

His chest explodes, it looked like someone stuffed a grenade into his gut. A large, open gash is on his chest, his broken and shattered ribs stick through the open wound, like jagged teeth. But suddenly the bleeding wound closes up, the infinite blades knitting together his broken body.

One second.

That one second, where Berserker's blade slowed a millimeter from ripping through his body... it gave him enough to begin. He forcefully stomped his reinforced foot to the ground, right onto Berserker's blade that was sunken deep in the ground when Berserker completed his swing. He raised the legendary weapon and brought the weapon forward, not even Saber could block these hits.

Upper arm.

Collarbone.

Windpipe.

Temple.

Diaphragm.

Rib

Testicles.

Thighs.

All simultaneously hit, faster than the speed of sound, destroying 80% of his body, with one final lance-like-thrust, Shirou stabs him in the heart, causing the carcass to explode.

It looked like a murder scene, blood, flesh, and organs are coated everywhere. Berserker is reduced to a bloody mess on the ground.

Everyone is shocked into silence.

"Oni...Onii-chan took away 3 of his lives!" Shirou grimaced, only 3? He knew it wasn't as good as before but 3? Seriously?

"Guh!" The swords shoot out of his body, he feels them pierce his organs, he feels his bones splinter from the swords, his mind rips apart from the sheer strain of holding back Archer's arm.

"Master! What's happening to you?!" He has swords coming out of his skin!

"Oh my God, Emiya-kun!" Rin watches in horror as the blades continue to shoot out of his body.

"Hmmph! Come Berserker were leaving!" With that she turns and the regenerated Berserker follows wordlessly, it almost looked like he lingered, his glowing eyes "watch" Shirou's broken form for a bit. He follows the white-haired girl and soon disappears.

But that's impossible, he is only a Mad Beast, he has no mind to even think right now, only to follow his little Master's orders.

Shirou felt like he was dying again, like he was losing everything that defines him. Shirou closes his eyes and 'Tightens the Shroud' feeling Archer's influence go away, slowly ever so slowly the swords recede back into **Unlimited Blade Works.**

"Heh... n-not bad, not... bad... at... all..." Shirou mumbles. He then falls, he sees Saber and Rin run up to him and call out to him, he thought he saw tears in their eyes. He tries to tell them he's okay, but his eyes feel heavy, he used the arm too much. He soon falls into blissful unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, a certain Red Knight watched from the top of a building, miles away. His eyes narrow._ "Was that... Tracing...? Hmph, the pieces are falling into place, I'm coming closer to finding out this anomaly that is you, Emiya Shirou..." _He looks to the sky, a bitter smile present on his face. _"I bet you had some twisted hand in this... huh, Alaya...?" _He slowly disappears into his Astral Form.

**Author's Notes:**

**Well that the new chapter, sorry it took so long but, writing is hard! Again please send me any messages on what to improve on. Review and have good day!**


	3. Chapter 3: Explanations

"Regular Speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_"Where... where am I?"_ Shirou slowly opens his eyes to see a vast plain farther then the eye could see. One word to describe this place, would be... beautiful.

He then sees a younger Saber and man in a cloak, approach a sword stuck in stone.

He felt his vision blur, a name of... something entered his brain, but it was just out of his reach.

_"Whosoe'er pulleth out this sword of this stone is rightwise king born of England."_ He said, as Saber reaches for the sword he speaks again.

_"Remember, Arthur... you will no longer be considered human." _Her eyes meet the other man's.

_"Of course Merlin, for the sake of my land, for the sake of my people... I would do this a thousand times over."_ Saber grabs the sword without hesitation and a golden light bathes her.

Shirou wakes up with a groan and a dull ache in his head. _"What hit me?" _As soon as he spoke those words he remembered everything, how Saber was being beaten by Servant Berserker, how that monster nearly cut him in half, how he used Berserker's own blade to kill him multiple times.

Shirou felt a twitch of phantom pain on his side, making him recoil slightly. _"What...? The wounds healed?" _He was sure there would be more damage, especially with all those swords...

"Well I'm sure Rin can explain this..." Shirou mumbles, he gets up and as he reached for the sliding door it opens suddenly, he losses his balance. "Whoa!" he then falls on something else.

"Oof!" A surprisingly high voice said, they fall in a tangle of limbs, as he laid there his hand feels something soft... wait soft? Shirou opens his eyes and sees he's fallen on Saber... and his hand is directly on her chest. He sees Saber trying to keep a calm expression, but that was promptly ruined by the small blush on her face.

They are both silent.

"..."

"..."

Shirou wordlessly gets up with a very, _very_ red face and goes to freshen up. He would have usually sputtered something stupid, and inevitably ending with him in alot of pain, but his surprising calmness gave him enough time... to run away.

When he reached the bathroom, he didn't even realize he was holding his breath. While Shirou is in the bathroom, he notices a starburst scar directly where his heart is. _"Where'd this come from?"_ He looks at his back and notices the same exact scar is there too. _"Must have something to do with Lancer... again." _He wondered when he would meet him again, he certainly was a... unique character.

When Shirou returned from the bathroom he sees Rin looking through the cabinets for something, he also sees Saber sitting at the table, their eyes meet and he sees her face heat up again, he has to admit. It looks rather cute. Rin looks back and notices him.

"Ah, Emiya-kun your awake, you know you should at least have better tea than this, next time buy the triangle ones." She sets down the cups of tea. "Do you remember what happened last night, Shirou?"

He knew, _painfully_ knew. But, he wanted to hear what happened after, he gives a shrug. "Kinda, but some parts are fuzzy, can you tell me what happened?"

Rin closes her eyes. "For the most part it was fine, Berserker and Illyasviel left, your... swords went away and Saber recovered enough to move, but..." She stressed that last word.

"The strangest part was when your body healed just like that!" She said with complete amazement.

Shirou is just as confused as her. _"What's going on?"_

Saber speaks up. "What happened, Rin? I thought it had to do with either Shirou's or your healing magic?"

Rin shakes her head. "No I don't know that kind of stuff, only minor healing spells, and Emiya _especially_ doesn't know that kind of stuff." Shirou grumbles slightly, why does she think he's that bad with magic?

"Even if I knew better healing spells, I don't have nearly enough magic power for anything like that." She sips her tea calmly, her mind flashes back to Shirou's bloody state, the large wound that ripped open his stomach and the equally large chest wound, it still surprised her when he took Berserker's attack and pushed on, continuing to fight the monster on equal grounds... she shivered slightly.

Shirou rubs his chin. "Hmm... by the way Saber, how are your wounds, you okay now?"

Saber calmly looks to Shirou. "Do not worry about me Master, my wounds were minimal compared to yours..." A bit of guilt, present in her voice. "We Servants possess self-repairing abilities, so given time we can heal from any amount of damage."

"Oh!" Rin suddenly declares. "That must be it! Maybe Saber's healing abilities are affecting Shirou somehow!" She pound her fist onto the palm of her other hand.

"With your incomplete summon of Saber it must have made an improper connection from that mistake." He swore he heard jealousy in her voice, followed by slight grumbling from her.

Shirou is silent, feeling a bit guilty himself. "...Sorry about that Saber, even when I'm protecting you, you still save me in the end."

Rin frowns, and sighs tiredly. "If your going to apologize then you should apologize for that _very_ reckless thing you did. Standing up to a monster like Berserker is complete suicide with a live body, and also doing it for your Servant is completely wrong!"

Shirou looks to her then glances quickly to his left arm. "There wasn't any other choice for what I did, If I didn't push Saber out of the way, then she would have died!" He sees Saber shift to look directly at him.

"Master, thinking of saving me in the first place is wrong, Servants live to have their Masters win. A Master taking a blow for a Servant goes against all reason!"

Shirou clenches his fists hard enough to draw blood. "If I have the abilities to help others, what's the point of even having that power! If this situation were to repeat, I would gladly do it again and again to save you!"

"It doesn't work like that Emiya! If you would have died, than Saber would have disappeared, even if you saved her and you died it would be completely pointless!"

_"Why are they teaming up on me? I can easily take care of myself and protect them, they saw what I did to Berserker." _

"Master, at times like those, you were suppose to run away. Even if I'm defeated, you can live on, continue your life as you wish. This was part of the promise you made _me_ swear on, Shirou, and it seems that _you_ have already broken it..." She's right about that, he does feel a bit guilty.

"I... I am sorry for that, Saber, really. But, I can take care of myself just fine! Why can't you two understand, I would have only done this for you two or anyone else I cared about! Plus, you both saw what I'm capable of!" He immediately regrets his words, Rin's eyes light up a bit.

"By the way, Emiya-kun what was happening yesterday? Why were those swords coming out of your body?"

"Yes Master, what exactly happened?"

Shirou suddenly felt the scrutinized gaze of two very scary women, he breaks out in a cold sweat. _"Oh crap! I knew this was going to come back to bite me!" _He had to think fast!

"I don't know... maybe it has to do with my Projection and Reinforcement magic?" Please buy it!

Rin contemplates those words. "Hmm...maybe, it could be possible that using those two together can have a nasty side-effect... it could be possible with your constant concentration for reinforcement that you possibly project the swords into your body by accident. I have to research this more..."

Shirou silently sighs in relief, he doesn't notice Saber give him a suspicious look.

While Shirou is calming down he looks at his clothes and notices it doesn't have his sleeve ripped off and isn't full of holes. "Huh?" Shirou pats himself down.

"Oh right. You were covered in blood so I changed your clothes." Rin replies casually.

"...What?" He said dumbly.

She giggles. "Whats wrong Emiya-kun? It's not like I did anything."

Shirou's face turn red. "N-no! That's not what I meant!"

"Rin, maybe you should stop, Shirou is looking uncomfortable."

"Oh? What's this Saber, coming to your Master's side? I didn't know you felt that way about him?"

Saber's face turns very red. "Th-That's not it at all, he is my Master and I am his Servant, I must help him, even in things as small as this, e-excuse me." She gets up and leaves to the kitchen.

Rin begins to laugh, looking at the wonderful amusement she's created, she calms down enough to talk.

"Besides that... what's your next plan of action, Emiya-kun?"

"For the Grail War? Not really sure, I mean so far I survived an encounter with two Servants and lived, Saber's safe and you're safe, so I don't really know what to do. The only thing I really want to do is prevent what happened 10 years ago from happening ever again, I don't want there to be another tragedy..." He said. He actually had other things to do, but he planned to do those later in the war.

Rin frowns slightly. "You shouldn't say that kind of stuff in front of Saber, Emiya-kun she'd probably kill you." He almost laughed, she wouldn't kill him over something as silly as that...

Right?

"Do you think Servants answer the call of a Master to only help them achieve the Holy Grail? Whoever the winner is, the Servant and Master gets their wish granted. That is why most heroes become Servants, to get something they dearly wished for granted by the Holy Grail." She finishes with a sip of her tea. " I ask again Emiya-kun. What will you do?"

Shirou is silent for a moment "For now I want to relax, I'll deal with all these problems tommorow, you can stay here for as long as you want Rin, I'm going to get some fresh air."

His immediate destination is to the Dojo, he pauses when he reaches the door. _"Huh, I haven't been here since Dad died... or rather, when I had to survive my war..." _

When he enters the Dojo he immediately sits down and starts to meditate, activating his magic circuits, feeling their familiar heat within his body. While he meditates he thinks about what happened yesterday. _"I need to get stronger, last night didn't cut it, I barley survived my war and that encounter with Berserker just showed how much more training I need."_ He grimaced when he thought more about it.

He was tempted to trace his swords and begin slashing things with them, but decided not to. He felt like it would ruin the mood. He decided that relaxing a bit would be better in such a calm place.

Shirou hears the sliding door open, Saber enters the room and stares at him with her piercing-green eyes.

"So you were here, Master."

"Oh Saber! Are you here to join me?"

She shakes her head. "No, I'm here to inform you that Rin is leaving."

He nods his head. "Thank you Saber, I probably should see her out." He moves, but stops infront of her, he struggles for words. She looks at him curiously.

"...Saber?"

"Yes, Shirou?"

"Well it's about what happened in the morning, I just wanted to apologize for what I did."

He see her face heat up a little. "Not to worry, Master, what happened, happened. It was an honest mistake."

Shirou smiles, the awkward feeling lifted somewhat. "I'm glad you understand." He's just glad she's not angry.

"I've been meaning to ask you this Master, as soon as you are finished and Rin leaves we should go on immediate reconnaissance."

"Wait Saber, I don't want to go and challenge anyone."

"What...?" She's dumbfounded.

"There only going for the Holy Grail right? I'm not really interested in the Grail and I don't want to get into useless fights."

"Wh-What are you saying?! Your just going to sit here and wait when we could go out and eliminate the others Masters?!"

Shirou shakes his head. "No, I didn't say that. Saber, right now it seems that there are other Masters that want to drag innocent lives into the war, we should deal with them first, _**and end them**_." He said ominously. This startled Saber, hearing something so dark come from her Master, almost reminding her of _him_.

"Oh, I knew you were going to be like this, Emiya-kun." She probably didn't hear what had just said, only catching the beginning of his speech.

Saber turn around quickly. "Rin...? You are still here?"

"Sorry. I heard you two were talking, so..." She let that hang.

"What will it be Emiya-kun? You won't challenge anyone to fight, but you'll defeat any Masters that appear. Is that what your planning? Your just contradicting yourself Emiya, How do you plan to stop those evil Masters?"

...

"Heh..." Shirou's face is shadowed, he looks up with determination in his eyes. "When the time comes I will defeat them, and if I'm pushed into a corner... I won't hesitate to_ kill _them." He looks up to Rin, a sad smile is present on his face, making her almost regret asking him in the first place.

"I... I know I can't save everyone, that's impossible, It's a childish fantasy that I _used_ to follow. But, there's one thing that will never change, and what it is, is to _always_ keep my loved ones safe. That is why... whoever this is, they are threatening the lives of the ones I love, this will only get worse, and worse until someone _dies_. That is why, when the time comes... they won't be given a chance, they won't be aloud to live as long as I still breath..." He ended calmly, but behind his calm words is a voice laced with venomous rage.

"E-Emiya-kun..."

"Master..."

Rin recovers quickly, still slightly shaken by his compelling speech. "I'm going Emiya-kun, and a word of advice. To win this war, you have to defeat, or... kill them, as you said, to achieve the Holy Grail and remember... I'm no exception to that rule, as soon as I leave, we're enemies again. Don't think of me as a human being anymore."

"Wait, but Tohs-" She's already out the door.

As she is leaving. "Are you satisfied now, Rin?" A bored voice said.

"Archer..." He's leaning against a lone wall.

"This isn't like you Rin, helping another Master this much." He said.

"...I told you didn't I? I had to repay him, besides that it's my fault that he's stuck in this damn war, that's why I need to pay him back."

"Hmm...? But Rin, don't you think you've paid him back enough? I didn't want to say it but I'll say it. If your also a Master aiming for the Holy Grail, then hurry up and get a move on."

"...I know, Archer." She said evenly.

"Heh, If I didn't know any better I'd say you have feelings for him."

"Wh-What? Idiot! Don't say stuff like that! Come we're leaving, and you better not say another word or else!"

Archer smirks. "My what a frighteningly, cute Master I have..." He said dryly.

Her face heats up again. "W-What did I just say!" She storms off, already annoyed with her stupid Servant.

Archer watches her go, and soon gives a small sigh. _"You're still too soft, Rin..."_ His thoughts soon remember what the red-haired boy had said.

_"When the time comes I will defeat them, and if I'm pushed into a corner... I won't hesitate to __**kill**__ them." _Archer tightens his hands, almost enough to draw blood.

Is it true? Can this Emiya Shirou be saved, to not become a hopeless case? Can he be swayed from that idiotic path...?

_"I... I know I can't save everyone, that's impossible, It's a childish fantasy that I **used** to follow." _Archer shakes his head, clearing any lingering thoughts.

No. Not anymore, he would not let Emiya Shirou live. He would kill him to prevent this accursed cycle to continue. He felt that with his clouded mind, he has already let this happen too much as it is. He has no hesitation, he has no _regrets_.

He smiled darkly, Emiya Shirou would die by his hand.

Sooner or later.

He turned to look at the Emiya Household, almost as if he's remembering a fond memory. He swiftly turns away and disappears into the cloudless sky.

* * *

Meanwhile, Shirou is in his room looking at his ruined clothes. _"Man, Berserker sure did a number on this. Of course I did some damage too... well, I guess I have to throw this away." _Shirou notices a large ruby necklace on the floor next to his clothes.

He smiles. _"Heh, I remember this..."_ He hears footsteps approaching and he quickly puts the necklace in his desk.

It's Saber. "Master, I have something's to discuss with you; is now okay?" He nod his head.

Shirou and Saber soon enter the kitchen and Shirou makes tea. "Ah, so what do you want to talk about Saber?"

"There are two things I would like to discuss with you, the first is this, normally a Servant would tells you his or her name as part of the contract agreement, but I would rather not tell you mine, please excuse the discourtesy." He thought about it for a moment and replied.

"So the name of the Servant is what their names were when they were a legendary hero?"

"Yes, knowing your Servants name will give you a better understanding of a Servants capabilities. But if an enemy Master knows this they can determine the weaknesses of the Servant too. If you knew my name and you were captured, you could be manipulated into giving all your secrets."

Shirou already knew most things, but he had to play along. "Hmm, yes I understand Saber. I agree with what your thinking."

She smiles, feeling a great amount of weight lift from her shoulders. "Thank you Master." She takes a sip of tea. "The second thing I wanted to tell you about is that you cannot supply me with mana. Normally a Servant receives a constant supply of prana from their Master to maintain their existence in this world. Yet we cannot do such things at the moment."

"Hmm... well I figured, since Rin told me that we have an incomplete connection... If this keeps up will you...?"

"Yes, if this continues I will be unable to keep my existence and fade away."

"You should have told me sooner! We could have tried to find a way to fix it."

"No Shirou, it would have taken too long and even though I said I have no way to replenish it, I still have a sufficient amount of mana and I will not exhaust it all in this war. But there's still a chance I will run out, so I'll use as little as possible."

"Oh, so that's how it is, well I think its time for me to show you to your room, do you want me to show you it now?" She looks at him with surprise.

"Shirou, will I be separated from you?"

"Well your room will be right next to mine, so you should be fine with that right?"

"Wait a minute Shirou, I can't accept that! I must sleep in the same room as you. This is the duty of a Servant to a Master!"

"E-Eh?! Saber I can't allow that! It's improper to have you in the same room as me!"

"Stop being an idiot Master! When a Master sleeps, that is the most dangerous time for them! Some Servants are able to completely mask their very presence! So that is why I must sleep in the same bed as Shirou!" She didn't notice the way she said that. He feels his face heat up slightly, only aiding in making Saber more annoyed and confused.

"No! Definitely not! You're a girl Saber! I can't allow this!" Not to mention it would feel like he was cheating on _her_.

"Wh-What kind of nonsense is that?! I am a Servant before I'm a woman! Even if you call me a woman..." She's interrupted from her logical speech.

"Argh! Shut up! Just shut up! No means no Sab-" As Shirou is about to yell at her more he hears his doorbell ring.

Shirou's heart nearly stops. _"How could I forget about her?" _Shirou looks to Saber, and she notices the expression on his face. He hid it very well, but she could see the tired look he always had, it was a look she has seen many times before.

In herself... whenever... whenever she was finished with battle...

"We'll continue this later, for now I need you to hide, please go to the dojo." He sees Saber is about to protest. "Please?

Saber's protest die in her throat. "...Fine but remember that we will continue this later." She turns and leaves.

Shirou makes sure she is gone. _"With everything that's been happening, I completely forgot about calling her, the girl who I sacrificed nearly everything for, the girl who I've given up my ideals for, the girl who I've fallen in love with..." _

He hears the doorbell ring again. "Ah! Okay, okay I'm coming!" He opens the door. His heart skips a beat. Her beautiful face appears.

"Good evening, Senpai." He feels as if the entire room lit up from her beauty.

**Sakura Matou.**

**Author's Notes:**

**Hello everyone! Sorry if this chapter is boring to you but you always need one of these for every fan-fiction story. I'm also sorry for the long wait but here's the new chapter, in case your wondering I'm mostly using the manga right now for reference, but don't worry I will use the visual novel soon enough for certain events..., I'm also sorry if I'm making the characters seem OOC but I'm not sure I've been making them sound right or not, I'm not even sure I'm expressing their emotions well either *cough* Tsundere Rin *cough* so please tell me any mistakes I've made and I will gladly change them! I'm no Gabriel Blessing so please help me out and tell me my mistakes. Review and have a wonderful day!**

**P.S- Sorry if some you will get angry at me for this but no LEMONS, I MIGHT make slight lime scenes but going into complete detail for those scenes is a big no, no for me. Not that I'm against sex scenes, its just that I'm already struggling enough with the characters personality and also trying to follow canon, I also apologise for following the canon so closely, I'm just not a very good writer for original stuff... so again sorry, this is my first fan-fic, so I still have a lot to learn!**

**P.S.S- An update of ****Shirou's Harem! (Not really.)**

**Arturia**

**Rider**

**Sakura**

**Rin**

**Illya**

**Caster? (I'm thinking of adding her into the harem, I know it seems strange but just tell me if you like this idea or not.) Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4: Complications

"Regular Speech"

_"Thoughts"_

"Ah! Good evening as well Sakura!... hmm? Fuji-nee's not with you?"

She nods her head. "Yes, she had some things to take care of at the staff room in school. So I left before her. Anyway Senpai, how is dinner coming along? Are you finished?"

"Ah...I'm still working on it... sorry this is a bit embarrassing to ask, but could you help me?" She seemed to smile even brighter.

"Don't worry Senpai, I don't mind. I also bought some rockfish since it was cheap."

"Oh! That's nice should we have it with the mixed sauce?" She nods quickly and they begin.

Shirou and Sakura put on their aprons and get ready to prepare dinner.

"Do you want me to gut the fish?"

"No... I got it since there are spines, can you handle the sauce?"

She nods her head and gets to work, while Shirou is gutting the fish, his thought linger onto more depressing ones. _"I can't allow her to become that **thing **again, I will save her and never let her get hurt again._" He looks to Sakura, he sees her beautiful face flash to something else.

_"No, no Senpai! Stay away! I'll probably end up hurting you..." _He watches as her face contorts again, becoming more sinister than before._ "I'm going to hurt you, Senpai, I don't know why, but... I want to stay like this."_ Shirou grimaces. "_Never again..." _Shirou doesn't notice, and he pushes the knife too far into the fish, causing it to poke out and prick his finger.

"Ouch!"

"Oh! Senpai are you okay?!" Her face is full of concern.

" Ah, Don't worry I just got a little cut on my finger."

"Here give me your hand." She grabs his hand and he feels how soft and warm it is. His face heats up, remembering _that _night he shared with her.

"There all better Senpai, you should be more careful!" She looks to his face and sees it's very red. _"Is he...blushing? Why would he blush? The only reason he would is..." _She sees that her hand is holding his. _"Does that mean he's embarrassed to hold my hand...?" _Her face gains a dazed and happy look.

"...U-Umm, Sakura?"

"...Y-Yes...?" She asks in a daze.

"Could you let go of my hand... please?" His face is on fire, her eyes are still hazy and out of focus, they slowly return to normal, and she notices she's still gripping his strong hand.

"Ah! Sorry Senpai!"

"Don't worry Sakura..." He coughs into his hand, trying to bring the attention elsewhere. "W-Well, I think we should continue with dinner. Again, sorry Sakura, for making you help me with this. You're probably tired from your activities." She shakes her head.

"I don't mind Senpai, I selfishly intruded so please let me do at least this much."

"What are you talking about Sakura? You're a part of this family too, you're welcome here for as long as you want." She smiles softly at that.

Meanwhile a certain someone is stealing food from the kitchen, Shirou gives a tired sigh, his eyebrow twitches in annoyance. "Hey, Fuji-nee!" He smacks her in the head with a ladle.

"Fugya!" She rubs her head with tears in her eyes.

"Fuji-nee! Stop grabbing food from the kitchen!"

"Come on Shirou~! Can't you over look this one~?"

"No way! Can't you ever understand that it's bad manners?" She looks at him for a moment, and just continues eating her acquired food. He sighs again, almost tempted to hit her again.

"The point is though... when did you get back?"

"Ehe, he, he, he~, I snuck in a while ago through the porch." She looks at the food. "Hey Sakura-chan, it's fine if I eat some of this, right?" She looks with pleading eyes.

Sakura almost gave in, but she glanced to the kitchen and met with the cold, strict eyes that came from Shirou Emiya.

She shivered, he's almost like a different person when he's in the kitchen. She shakes her head, she can't give in! She has to be strong like, Senpai!

"I'm sorry but it will be dinner soon so please restrain yourself, Fujimura-sensei!"

"E-Eh! But why?!"

* * *

Dinner is prepared and they sit down and enjoy the food. "Very well, then... shall we eat?" Shirou said.

Fuji-nee was practically waiting for that. "Yes, let's eat!" She declares.

She digs in with gusto, but sees Shirou is not eating. "Shirou...? Is something wrong?"

_"This is not right, I force Saber to sit alone while I enjoy food and company? I can't accept that!" _Shirou looks up to Fuji-nee's slightly concerned face. "Excuse me, I need to get something." He gets up and leaves.

They soon hear Shirou's voice arguing with **another **voice, a **female** voice.

He comes back with a girl. He rubs the back of his head awkwardly. "...Everyone this is Saber she's... an associate of Kiritsugu's, and she's here for a couple of weeks on business." Silence is the only thing that is answered in the tense silence.

"...Hello Saber-san." Sakura says quietly, he thought he heard something in her voice... something that promised a lot of pain for him in the future...

"SHIROU!" Fuji-nee roars, he swore he saw a tiger behind her. "WHY DID YOU HIDE HER FROM ME? ARE YOU SOME KIND OF PERVERT?!" She then pulls a shinai from who knows where.

Shirou lifts his hands. "N-Now Fuji-nee! I didn't tell you because I knew you would react like this!"

She hears absolutely nothing. "SHIROU!" She swings it down. "DIE!"

As soon as she swings down, all she hits is air... because she doesn't even have a shinai to hit with. She grabs the air a couple of times, and her eyes widen in surprise she looks around and meets the cold eyes of Saber, holding her shina.

"I would appreciate it if you don't strike Shirou when he's explaining why I'm here."

"Y-You!" She growls.

"Please calm down Fuji-nee! I told you there is a very good reason to all of this."

She crosses her arms under her chest. "Start. Talking. Now!"

"Like I said, she's an old associate of Kiritsugu's and when I heard that she was visiting, I let her stay here until she's done."

Saber talks as well. "Yes Kiritsugu... is an old friend and when Shirou heard that I have business here, he was kind enough to let me stay here. I also wanted to see how much little Shirou had grown, and see how he was doing." Fuji-nee glances between Shirou and Saber for a heated moment, then she sighs heavily.

"Fine! You can stay, you're lucky that Shirou is such a gentleman or I wouldn't trust this one bit!" She silently glares at Saber and Shirou while she prepares to eat.

"...Well since that's over with shall we eat now?" Shirou said.

As soon as they start, Shirou immediately notices the stew.

"Ah! Sakura you made this stew right?"

"Yes I did, is the flavor too much?"

"No, it's fine I think it's just right."

"Yes I agree, Hey Shirou~... don't you think Sakura will be a good wife?"

Sakura blushes. "Wh-What! I do-don't thin-"

Shirou smiles softly. "Yes, I think she will."

Sakura's entire face glows red, if you look hard enough you could almost see steam coming out of her ears too.

"I-I'll go get the tea!" She hurries off.

Sabers bowl is soon presented to him. "Shirou, seconds."

"Ah, right away!"

Taiga giggles. "I can't believe its been more that a year since Sakura-chan came along."

"Yeah that's right..."

"Ehe, he, he~ hey Shirou, don't you think Sakura is pretty sexy now~?" She asks with a knowing smile.

Shirou face reddens and he coughs into his hand. "...Why are you saying such strange things, Fuji-nee?"

Saber's bowl is presented again. "Shirou, thirds."

"Ah! here you go!"

"He, he, he~ nothing important..." She turns on the T.V

["Up next, The News: Early this morning in the residential district surrounding the Fuyuki City school..."]

"Hey Shirou! Come look!" She points to the T.V screen.

["...the corpses of the entire household were discovered."]

"It's been dangerous lately, hasn't it?" She muses.

["According to the official investigations the crime was committed with a large edged weapon... At the moment a headquarters is being established by Miyama-Chou and authorities are rushing to develop a criminal profile..."]

"They are saying that their was a lot in Shinto, too."

Shirou didn't hear anything else besides that. "_A murder in Fuyuki City...? Don't tell me, this is related to the Holy Grail War... Lancer has to be the culprit huh? If it's him, he has to be stopped, though this doesn't fit his style..."_

"Senpai? Senpai? Senpai!" Sakura's face is etched with worry.

"Huh?! Ah, sorry, sorry! I was thinking about something."

"What were you thinking about Shirou?" Saber said.

"Ah, don't worry about it." Shirou smile is fake.

Fuji-nee looks concerned. "I know you have a strong sense of responsibility, but you can't take care of everything." She didn't see it clearly enough, but... the expression that Shirou made... it almost looked like Kiritsugu's very own expression, many years ago.

"Yeah, I know Fuji-nee."

Shirou looks at the table. "Huh... I guess all the foods gone." He sees Saber with a satisfied expression, she silently wipes her face and soon calmly drinks her tea.

Fuji-nee looks at the table. "W-What?!" She is silent... for about two seconds.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" She falls to the ground and cries anime tears.

Sakura sweat drops. "Ehe, he, he... don't worry Fujimura-sensei! I promise to cook twice as much tomorrow, how does that sound?"

Fuji-nee sniffs. "R-Really?"

Sakura smiles. "Yes."

"Hooray!" Her personality shifts in an instant.

"Well Sakura, I think it's time to leave, we'll see you later Shirou."

"Senpai are you sure you don't need help with the dishes?"

"Yeah don't worry you already did enough today." He smiles warmly. "Thank you..."

Her face blushes and she nods her head. "G-Good night Senpai."

"Yeah be careful out there."

Shirou closes the door and hears footsteps behind him. "Shirou."

"Ah, Saber! Sorry for neglecting you like that."

She shakes her head. "I do not mind those simple matters. So Shirou they are your...?"

"Yeah I guess you could say their my family. They are people who are important to me."

Saber nods. "I see so they are unrelated to the Holy Grail War?"

_"Well one of them is..." _Shirou looks to Saber. "...Yeah everyone lives in this city peacefully, so I can't forgive anyone who threatens that peace."

"So this is Shirou's reason for joining the war...? Anyway Shirou we still need to discuss our sleeping arrangements."

"Saber..." He starts.

"Shirou it would give a better chance for your survival, the slightest threat that appears, will be detected by me and will be eliminated."

"But, Saber..." He tries again. Her logical explanation continue to trump his own words before he can even speak.

"Master, if you are alone there is a stronger chance you will die, but your chances of survival are stronger with me present."

"...You're not going to stop this are you?" She nods her head.

Shirou sighs. "Fine, fine you win, but first help me clean the dishes."

They soon reach their destination "So this is Shirou's room..." It is a very plain room, no pictures, no personal items, just a small table and pillow to sit on, and a futon.

"Is it bad?"

"No, no, I would say it's very plain for others, bur for you... it seems to fit you almost perfectly."

"You know Saber if this was anyone else I would say no, but I trust you. I'm still a little uncomfortable with the idea, but with you I'll work with it."

She smiles. "Thank you for understanding." She said warmly.

"Well I think we should sleep now." He lays down and she follows suit.

* * *

Saber is staring at the back of Shirou's head and notices how calms he is, how his breathing slows and his muscles relax, he's fallen asleep, Shirou then unconsciously turns over and grabs Saber, pulling her closer to his chest.

Her cheeks burn slightly, she feels how muscular he actually is, how he holds her to his body. She feels his warm breath hit her head. Something stir's in her chest that she's never felt before, she is then slowly lulled to sleep by Shirou's beating heart. _"It's... it's peaceful..." _her eyes close not to open for a long time.

Saber opens her eyes to see she's in a large cave. _"Where am I?" _she hears footsteps and sees a beautiful woman, she has long purple hair, a skin tight dress that barley covers her...assets, arm and thigh-length sleeves and the strangest part is a blindfold covering her face.

She then sees Shirou walk out as well, but his appearence is different, he has a slightly larger left arm that is covered by what appears to be a red cloth, if you look closely enough you can see the hand is tan. They look as if their discussing something but she can't hear anything yet, they both nod and the woman takes her blindfold off showing her strange eyes, they are bright pink with rectangle pupils.

But the next thing she sees makes her go pale, she stumbles if she didn't catch herself she would have fallen to the ground, she feels nauseous, she sees... **herself**. But the difference is that she looks... corrupted, she has pale skin and dead yellow eyes, black demonic armor and **Excalibur**, her holy sword transformed into that, that thing!

Saber sees the purple-haired woman charge at 'Dark Saber' at blinding speeds, speeds which is even trouble for her to follow. She uses spiked daggers with chains on the end, but the demonic knight blocks each hit easily.

The purple-haired beauty is starting to slow down, 'Dark Saber' is clearly stronger than her in a lot of categories. What 'Dark Saber' doesn't notice is that the she is weaving the chains around her body with each strike, as soon as 'Dark Saber' is about to deliver the final strike, the other woman retreats.

"!" 'Dark Saber' than charges her body and sword with mana, easily breaking the chains.

"You cannot stop me with such a thing!" But it seems that opening is just enough for the other Servant to activate her Noble Phantasm. A large magical circle appears in front of her with a large eye in the center.

"Saber!"

"Come Rider!"

**"BELLERO-...!"**

'Dark Saber' activates her's as well.

**"EX-...!"**

Both attacks are charged to the max.

**"...PHON!**

**"...CALIBUR!"**

What used to be a golden and holy light is instead black and demonic, _tainted_. It is sent at Riders shining comet, she hears noise behind her and sees Shirou shaking in pain, he begins to vomit blood, she sees him completly untie the cloth and he raises his left arm while closing his eyes, when he opens them again he speaks two words.

**"RHO AIAS!" **Saber sees a multi-petaled flower-4 petals in total-appear in front of Rider's Noble Phantasm.

The two powerful attacks clash and at first it seems they are evenly matched until Rider's attack starts to slowly push forward.

"Gah!" She sees Shirou's body is being skewered by swords, noticing that with each broken petal, his body gained more damage.

His left arm starts to horribly convulse, he's trying to hold it as hard as he can.

The attacks soon cancel each other out, both Servants are sent flying back. Rider is sent slamming into the wall, but 'Dark Saber' seems to have gotten the most damage.

Shirou then quickly stumbles to 'Dark Saber' with a large detailed dagger which has a jewel at the bottom of the handle, he straddles her and raises the dagger, he pauses for a moment, his face showing great sadness and pain and a single tear drops onto Saber's cold face, his hands are shaking heavily, but with clear determination he ends her life with a single strike to her heart.

Saber wakes up in a cold sweat, she's breathing heavily and her hands are trembling.

_"Wh-What was that?! That couldn't have been one of his memories... could it__?"_ She hears a groan and sees Shirou is moving around as if he's searching for something, she smiles a little at this, her fear slowly going away.

She lays back in the futon and is slowly grabbed again, held closely by Shirou. His heartbeat again calms her down enough to sleep. _"I must figure this out tomorrow... Rin will... know... something..." _She soon falls asleep, trying to put that horrible memory behind her until tomorrow.

She had a rather dreamless, and peaceful sleep that night.

* * *

Shirou wakes up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, he even feels better with the warm body pillow he's hugging... wait... that's not right.

He doesn't have any body pillows.

His eyes finally register what's happening and he nearly panics at what he sees.

He is holding Saber closely to his body, his arm is under her waist and her head is under his chin. Their legs are also tangled together.

Shirou relishes the warmth that she creates, but he has to get up for school, slowly ever so slowly he wiggles out of her grasp and he sees a small frown appear on her face, as if she knows there's something missing, Shirou smirks at this.

Shirou does his daily routine and freshens up. He soon starts to make breakfast. He hears the doorbell ring and sees the beautiful Sakura standing there. He also sees a rushing Fuji-nee getting closer and closer.

"Good morning, Senpai!"

"Morning, Shirou~!"

"Ah, Good morning to you two! I was just about to make breakfast, do you want to join me?"

"Yes, that sounds good."

"YAY, FOOD!" Fuji-nee run's into the house.

...

As soon as they finish their breakfast they all have to leave.

"Senpai, I'll be leaving now."

"Ah! Watch out for cars."

He hears something crash behind him. "Sakura-chan! Wait, Wait!" She turns to Shirou. "See ya, Shirou! I won't excuse you if you're late!"

Shirou sighs. "Yeah, yeah don't fall in the street, Fuji-nee." He turns from the door and hears a cry of pain and a loud crash, he sighs and closes the front door.

Shirou looks to his room. _"I should probably get ready as well..." _As he opens the sliding door and he comes face to face with a stone-faced Saber.

"Wah! You surprised me Saber!" He yelled, clenching his rapidly beating heart.

"Ah, What good timing. Shirou we need to discuss some things." She and Shirou walk to the dining room and sit at the table.

"Shirou, as far as still attending school, would it not be better if I came along as well?" He shakes his head immediately.

"No Saber, sorry but you would stick out like a sore thumb. Masters are supposed to stay inconspicuous, right? And besides, I don't think there is any Master that is dumb enough to attack in public, and if I do get in trouble I'll use a command seal to get you here."

Saber still doesn't look convinced, but she reluctantly complies. "Okay Shirou, understood."

Shirou nods. "Well I'll be off Saber. If you're hungry I made some breakfast for you as well." Shirou gets up and slowly walks out of his house to go to school.

"Stay safe..."

* * *

"Man, Saber still doesn't trust me..." While he walks he sees Rin. "Good morning, Tohsaka!" She turns and gives him a blank look. "I'm in your debt because of yesterday, you helped me out a lot!" She just gives him a fierce looks and walks away.

_"Huh? What was that about?"_ Shirou scratches his head and walks away.

"Ah! Shirou!... I mean Emiya-kun! Could you help me distribute these?"

"Yeah, I got it, Fuji-nee."

He looks at the paper. _"Hmm? A note to parents? Let's see... afternoon activates have been shortened and students are recommended to go to school and leave in groups... it must have to do with the murders on T.V yesterday..." _He shrugs and goes to hand out the papers.

Some time later Shirou is walking down the hall.

"Yo, Emiya!" Shirou immediately tenses at hearing **his **damn voice, he wishes he could just punch him in the face, and maybe kill him in the process, but that would be way to quick, he needs to _suffer_.

Shirou forces a smile. "Hey... **Shinji**." He almost said through clenched teeth.

"Thanks for cleaning the archery room on Saturday, everyone is thanking you for allowing us to have such a pleasant practice."

Shirou nods his head, mechanically. "If I was helpful than that's good."

Shinji smirks. "And since Emiya is a former archery member this is only natural! Isn't that right Emiya?"

Shirou clenches his fist. "Yeah if it's something like this than I'll help out anytime."

"Ha, Ha, Ha! That's right! Get it? This guy is someone like that! If you're ever in trouble, it's fine to ask Emiya!"

"Well I don't mind that bu-" Shinji is already leaving.

"See you later, Emiya! Come on girls! Let's get go!"

One of the girls give Shirou an apologetic look. "Sorry about that, Emiya-san..." She hurries off, he recognizes that one, such a nice girl and yet she flocks to that piece of sh-

"You know Emiya... you shouldn't hang out with guys like them, those kinds of people are spoiled."

"Oh, Issei you're here! I don't know but he's not a bad guy." Heh, yeah right.

Issei pushes up his glasses. "I wonder if you're the only person who thinks that way."

He had to play along. "Well it's because I've known him for such a long time. Sure he has some rough points but that's how he is."

"Hmm... that so. By the way Emiya, the department equipment repairs that were requested have been cancelled, our school has also decided it would be better if the after school actives are shortened. Fujimura-sensei said that during home room because of the murder incidents and all."

Shirou nods his head. "Is that so? I understand. Just let me finish the one we were working on earlier today."

"Okay that's fine, I'll be thankful for that." Shirou slowly walks to the equipment room.

He looks outside and notices the sun is going down but at least he's finished with the equipment. "Phew... well that's over with..." While Shirou is is leaving he sees a shadow above him.

"Hmm? Oh Tohsaka! You're still here? What was up with the morning? Even when I said thanks for yesterday..."

Tohsaka stares with cold eyes. "...Amazing you don't even have your Servant with you, yet you walk around so nonchalantly."

"Eh...? But Saber is unable to change into spirit form, that's no reason for me to not come to school, right?"

"...That's right but if that's the case it would have been better for you to take a break from school."

Shirou shakes his head. "You say that but wouldn't being absent feel a little suspicious? Besides magi cannot cause a disturbance in public, right? If that's so than there's no reason to fight in a place like this."

"That's true but... are there any witnesses now?"

"E-Eh?" He looks around and what she said is true, he begins to feel a bit of dread go down his gut.

"Emiya-kun, the other day when I brought you to the church, it was not because I wanted you to fight as a Master, I wanted you to understand the current state of things, because if you understood I thought you wouldn't do anything reckless. But as I thought all that extra time and effort was a waste. I said it right? **"If we meet again we will be enemies." **She lifts her sleeve.

"Yo-You're kidding right, Tohsaka?"

"Even though I made it perfectly clear, it was still completely ineffective wasn't it? Emiya-kun, this is where you die."

"!" Shirou's muscles tense and he is ready to fight or a better option, run.

"Wa-Wait Tohsaka! I don't want to fight you! We're friends!"

She shoots multiple magic shots at him. "Amazing isn't it? You're still saying stuff like that... be at ease; I won't torment you, be thankful your opponent is me!" The magic orbs slam into the ground, completely shattering the hard floor.

Shirou runs and reinforces his legs to get away. _"Shit! She's serious! Why does it have to be me?!" _He remembers Sabers words. _"The Holy Grail War consists of Seven Masters killing each other, the one who survives becomes the victor..."_

"Even if you resist it's useless! An inexperienced magus like you can never match me!"

Shirou just continues running and dodging. _"Everything I can do will end up killing her... just what the hell can I do?!"_

Shirou continues to run while using his bag to block the shots, he drops his makeshift shield and turns the corner. _"Run away!"_

Rin slows down to see the bag "Tch, using his bag as a shield... is he still using reinforcement? Using such simple spells." Archer appears behind her.

"What's delaying you, Rin? As I thought, you shouldn't have given that guy advice, this is where I come in since your emotions are clouding your judgement."

"Stay out of this Archer, starting now I'm getting serious!"

Shirou is soon alone in a random classroom. _"What the hell do I do? I don't want to kill her but she's serious!" _Shirou looks to his left arm. "I need to prevent as little casualties as possible! I need to defeat her!"

Meanwhile Tohsaka senses Shirou's magical power in a certain classroom. "He reinforced the lock? Ridiculous! He thinks something like this can stop me?!" She blasts the door continuously, each hit breaking it bit by bit. He's using the barest amount of prana so he won't accidentally kill her.

_"Wait for it... Wait for it... Now!"_ Shirou jumps out the window and appears next to Rin, she notices quickly and shoots at Shirou but he throws his reinforced jacket to block the shots, Shirou charges forward and pins her arms over her head, he traces a knife and puts it against her throat.

"Ku...!" She can't move.

"Tohsaka! Please listen to me! I don't care about the war! I just want it to end as soon as possible I just want to keep my loved ones safe! So there's no reason for us to fight! So please stop."

"...You idiot! Still saying things like that!"

"Tohsaka!"

"It's useless... I won't make a deal like that, what do I gain by leaving you alive?"

"Are you crazy, Tohsaka! Do you want me to kill you?!" He pressed the knife on her neck just a bit more. "... don't make me... don't make me kill you. If you think involving and threatening _their_ lives as well..."

Tohsaka is silent. "Heh... Your so naive."

"Eh?!" Shirou's grip loosens enough where she drops down away from the knife and uses both her legs to kick him away.

"Oof!" Shirou is sent flying back, he hits the wall and slides down.

"Goodbye Emiya-kun, if you have any regrets, curse your own stupidity!"

_"...I guess its come to this..."_ Shirou readies his arms "Trace O-"

As soon as they are about to fight a sudden pressure hit them.

"Damn! Of all the times...!"

"Wha..." Shirou falls to his knees. _"What is this...? My strength is fading...!"_

_"_Emiya-kun, hold on! Apply prana to your body, and you should be able to resist the barriers pull." Shirou's breathing slowly calmed.

Archer materializes behind them. "Rin, the roof! A Servants presence is coming from there."

"Wa-Wait Tohsaka! What the hell is happening?!"

She looks down to Shirou. "An enemy has placed a barrier on the school... moreover, any humans will be melted down and absorbed. A nasty thing to do isn't it?"

"Then that means..."

"Yes... our students are the target, their souls are probably being consumed by a Servant. It looks like he knew we were here before he attacked but that would be convenient... beating me at my own game!"

"Wait for me! I'll fight too!"

"Idiot, just stay there, you can't do anything! We'll leave this for next time so just be quiet! Let's go Archer."

"Yeah." They quickly depart, too fast for him to reply.

_"Isn't there something I can do? I can allow all these lives to end! Not while I'm so close!"_

While Shirou is wandering around ths school, he suddenly gets a feeling to sniff the air. "Hmm? The sweet smell is concentrated around here, it started as soon as the barrier was made, also..." He looked to his left. "... It's getting stronger over there... is that the sign of the barrier?" Shirou soon speeds up where the smell is getting stronger, he opens the door and is outside.

"It's... the woods behind the school?" A sudden invisible force hits him in the face.

"It's here! It has to be... I don't see anything but there's no mistaking it! This is the heart of the barrier!" He's about to disable the barrier, but a presence stops his movement, it smells of blood and snakes...

"I'm surprised. You were able to recognize the source?" A voice said._  
_

Shirou can't breath. "Even when I was particularly careful in concealing it."

Shirou slowly turns to face _her._ "You found it as simple as that... he, he, than for your reward... I will give you a peaceful death."

**Rider.**

**Author's Notes:**

**I thank you all for your reviews and help! Thanks to you I was able to fix and change any mistakes I made. This is also the longest chapter i ever wrote, over 5000 words!, to some this may seem short but I'm proud of it!**

**Shirou's Harem updated again!**

**Arturia**

**Rider**

**Sakura**

**Rin**

**Illya**

**Caster (She's now part of the harem! After reading more about her tragic past, and hearing the positive reviews about her she needs a better ending, I mean come on! She dies in every route too!)**

**That's all I got to say, see you in the next chapter! Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5: Alliance

"Normal Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

A speeding figure is quickly making its way to the school. The shadowed appearence is revealed.

It's Saber, having a greatly troubled expression on her face. She begins to search the school.

_"...Strange, the indication of battle has disappeared, but... I'm worried about Shirou. It would be good if he's okay, but..."_ Saber suddenly feels a heavy pressure hit her, but that was not important right now.

"A barrier?! No... an enemy?!" Her eyes widen, knowing her Master...!

"I can't let this happen!" Saber is soon coated in a bright light and materializes in her shining armor. _"I'm on my way! Until then, please be safe, Shirou!"_

* * *

Shirou and Rider are staring at each other, Rider is smiling, amused at the human in front of her.

"So... you're the Servant that Tohsaka was talking about..." He almost stopped trying to be serious, his expression almost softened. He didn't wanted to fight the one he considered one of his closest friends.

She smirks. "Heh... and you seem to be a Master, your good... for a human that is. Although, I'm still surprised you were able to find the source of the barrier."

"Why are you doing something like this?! Did you really intend to attack the students?!" Of course Shirou knew who the real culprit is.

"Naturally, a place like this, which has an abundance of humans makes it suitable for harvesting souls."

"Don't mess around! Dispel the barrier now! Stop bringing innocent lives to this war!" Even if he no longer followed the path to save everyone he could, he would like to keep innocent people from dying, considering that they were also a couple hundred feet away from him... he didn't want his classmates to die.

She frowns slightly. "You're saying something strange, a Servant gathering human souls for prana is a standard tactic for the Grail War... you could say that the people who become prey are the key to victory, if that's so than you really can't say they are unrelated, right?"

"So you just don't care do you... or is it that, your _Master_ forced you to do this?" She doesn't answer at first, the silence was an answer enough.

"...In any case there's no reason for me to follow your orders, I'm merely following my... Masters will." He could hear it, clear as day, even if she kept her voice neutral and emotionless. She clearly hated, no, _despised _her Master.

She smiles. "...and if you truly want to stop the barrier, you'll have to defeat me first!" She runs forward, she teleports in a streak of purple, she's already in-front of Shirou. She attempts to kick Shirou in the face, but, with great difficulty, he barely reacts in time and dodges, feeling the heavy boot almost touch his chin. He jumps back and lifts his arms.

"Trace On!" Shirou grasps twin swords, One Light, One Dark, Ying and Yang, Husband and Wife.

**Kanshou** **and** **Bakuya**.

"Hoh...? It seems you're better than I thought, but... a mere human can never hope to match a Servant!" She charges again, and she seems to go even faster! He feels annoyed, she wasn't even considering him to be a threat.

Boy, would that bite her in the butt.

Shirou blocks and parries each jab, slash, and thrown projectile. But each strike feels like a sledgehammer, he's nearly knocked off his feet, his muscles ache, yet he continues to push on.

_"Guh! Even with max reinforcement she still overpowers me?! I can't rely on my... His arms power, not for something like this!" _Shirou slashes at her body but all he hits is air, she jumps into the trees, mocking him, toying with him. He continues to pump his body with prana, fueling the reinforcement to strengthen his body and mind.

Her laughter seems to echo's everywhere. "My, my... I underestimated you, I'm surprised you lasted this long, but playtime's over and it's time to get serious!" She throws her chains at seemingly impossible angles, they soon speed towards Shirou.

_"Tch! I only got one shot!" _Shirou throws the twin swords into the forest, and at the same time he is tangled by the chains and slams into the tree. Rider appears in front of him.

"Giving up I see? Do you see the difference in power? A human standing before me without your Servant, your reckless courage is commendable, but you're an idiot." She grabs his hair roughly, forcing him to meet her blinded eyes.

"It seems you're different from my Master." She gets closer, and Shirou feels her hot breath, slowly blowing onto his neck, making him shiver a bit. He saw an amused smile appear on her face.

"Yes, completely different..." She moves his head to the side, getting ready to take some energy from the boy. Her teeth elongate slightly, she slowly lowers her head to his neck. The only thing that stopped her was the low chuckle that came from the boy.

Shirou smirks. "Heh, heh, heh... you know? You should _really_ pay attention to your surrounding... like now for instance." She couldn't tell if he was bluffing or not. But... the sudden feeling of dread that sunk into her stomach, no matter how minuscule... she couldn't shake the feeling. She looked at the red-haired boy. _Nothing_ good was coming from that smiling face...

"!" Her internal instincts are screaming at her, she turns around and is faced with twin buzz saws, only due to her extreme flexibility she is able to bend backwards to dodge the swords, a few strains of hair are cut. The chains loosen enough for Shirou to bring out his arms and catch them.

He takes the opportunity to slash at Rider, succeeding in giving her a cut on her arm and leg. She retreats back into the forest. _"Damn! I'm going to tire soon, and that was the only chance I got, she'll never let that happen again... unless I can convince her to stop." _Now this is possibly the dumbest thing Shirou has done in his entire life, ever.

**"Rider." **she immediately tenses. _"How did he know that?!" _She thought that he was at least going to ask her if she was an Assassin class, or even a Caster class, but to know that she was a Servant of the Rider class... either he took a lucky guess, or... he knows something.

"Rider, please stop this meaningless violence, if we work together we can save Sakura!" Rider nearly falls off the branch she's on. _"Where did he hear this?! Shinji? No, that idiot's not that stupid, so how?" _

Yes, the boy definitely knows something.

"Please Rider, I'm not going to fight you, stop this now." Shirou drops his swords and they fade into dust.

_"No... it... it has to be a trap!" _She jumps out of the trees and speeds toward him, her daggers aimed at Shirou's body. He doesn't react, he doesn't defend, he doesn't even turn his head. Her daggers pierce into his body, she feels his ribs collapse with one dagger and the other slams into his side, ripping apart multiple organs.

"...Why...?" She sees Shirou turn his head and smile, blood begins to drip down his lips.

"I... I told you Rider, I'm not going to fight you." He said calmly. She sees his eyes were a bit unfocused and his voice was a bit weak, her hands are coated in his blood.

She is silent for a moment and removes the daggers with two swift yanks, she hears him grunt in pain. Shirou almost collapses to the ground, but her arm suddenly shoots out and grabs the back of his shirt. She roughly throws him against a tree, and he uses it heavily as a crutch.

Rider felt conflicted, she could just kill the boy right now, and end this little scuffle, and lessen the competition in this war... but, the boy had lowered his defense, even going as far as to saying he will trust her, even if she doesn't trust him.

She felt... guilty? Yes, that is probably the best emotion to describe her feelings right now. She felt like she should help the boy a little.

"...I will tell you this, the barrier is called "Blood Fort Andromeda", it's something that invokes the large-scale ley-lines in the earth, those ley-lines are damaged considerably so using this consecutively is impossible." She paused to see if Shirou was still listening, and all he did was continue to smile warmly at her. She shook her head slightly, clearing her thoughts of that trusting smile.

"When I invoked this barrier it was completely unexpected, it was also not fully released. There's at least several days required for the earth to rest before restarting it."

Shirou smiles again. "Thank you, Rider."

"Even after I almost kill you, twice... you thank me?... you're a strange one, boy"

"So I've been told... by the way, the name's Shirou."

"..." Rider remains silent for a bit, and a reply is about to be said. But, soon enough, Rider is forced to leap back when a powerful slash is sent at her.

A figure lands in front of Shirou. "Saber!"

"Shirou! Are you alright?!" She looks at her opponent, her eyes widen slightly. _"It's her..."_

Shirou grins, not noticing the bit of blood that leaked out. "Y-Yeah I'll li-live, thanks Saber."

She looks to Shirou and nods, trying to ignore all the blood on him, she returned her gaze to Rider. "Master, orders!"

"Defeat her!, and destroy that forsaken barrier!"

She charges toward Rider. "Understood!" The two warriors clash, Saber speeds up and slashes at Rider, Rider sends her multiple daggers at Saber, but they are easily deflected.

With each strike Rider is forced back. "Like I'll let you!" Saber flips into the air and attempts to brings her sword down on Rider with full force, exploding the ground and sending a couple of trees to the ground. It also created a massive dust cloud that masks the area.

Shirou reinforces his eyes, he sees a silhouette hidden within the trees.

"Master stay back... we're not done yet."

Rider looks on calmly. "An invisible sword? You have such a clever weapon."

Saber eyes dart around coldly. "And in comparison you are able to control a strange barrier... but with the way you carry yourself, you don't seem to be a Caster."

"This barrier is only one of my inherent abilities, I'd be troubled if you put me in the same category as something as poor as sorcery, my class is Rider, I rush to every battlefield riding my mount with the speed of a hurricane wind."

Saber readies her stance. "Is that so? Then I will have to drag you from your mount and erase you with my sword!"

Rider smirks. "You jest, as if a girl who crawls upon the earth..." She jumps into the air and throws her dagger. "... is capable of such things!"

Saber dodges each dagger and following chain, each one that misses cracks the ground with its unlikely power. _"Does she intend to do battle in mid-air?! With my feet off the ground, she hopes I will not have a stable footing to use my sword... but!"_

"Burst! Barrier of the Wind King!" She uses that as a boost to rockets at Rider "Prepare yourself, Rider!" Rider flinches, she didn't react in time to move.

As Saber was about to deliver the final strike, a projectile hits Rider in the shoulder, moving her out of the way. _"I missed!"_

"Hmm... was my timing off?" Archer said, a large bow in his hand, his other arm positioned to send another sword-arrow.

Rin enters the forest as well, she sees how bad of a condition Shirou's in. "Emiya-kun... Saber?!"

"Toh...saka?" He looks to the left, he feels his hands tighten. "Archer..." He growled.

_"Hmm... perhaps I've taken up a little too much time..." _Rider jumps up into the trees and Saber attempts to chase her, but Shirou's strong hand stops her from doing so. "Are you running away, Rider?!"

She disappears into the forest. Her voice seems to echo everywhere. "As one would expect, I am at a disadvantage in a two vs one battle, I will take my leave of this place."

"Wait!" Saber shouted. He notices the familiar purple-hair, far in the trees, she paused to look at him.

"...Bo-... Shirou, it will be a few days until the barrier is restarted... at most you may struggle." Rider said.

As soon as she finishes those words, the bloody sky turns back into the calm night.

Shirou falls to one knee and coughs out dark blood, he tries to inhale but he feels his ribs click painfully from their broken state.

"Emiya-kun!"

"Master!"

Shirou grins with bloody teeth. "Don't worry about me, I-I'm alright."

"Stop lying Master! You have very serious wounds, that was extremely reckless of you!" She delicately helps her Master up.

"Idiot! You could have died!"

Shirou smirks. "What happened to wanting to kill me? Neh, Tohsaka? I didn't know you cared so much?" She begins to stutter out words. "Hmm... maybe I misjudged you, Tohsaka. You really are a nice person..." He would have laughed at her expression if his ribs didn't hurt so much.

Her face gains a tinge of pink. "W-Whatever! Just don't go running of on your own!" She turns around and tries to hide the very large blush on her face, she takes a couple of calming breathes and turns back to Shirou. "A-Anyway, about the barrier... you found the source right?"

Shirou nods. "Yeah." For some reason his instincts are screaming at him, he readies himself for any possible threat.

Rin develops a scary aura and she raises a fist in anger. "I got tricked... the magic circle on the roof, was just a trap to stall us! It seems that she was waiting for the barrier to sap us of enough strength before finishing us in a single strike, and that Servant just now..."

Shirou's immediately reinforces his body and traces a nameless sword, he blocks Archer's attempt at killing him. If Saber was in-front of him, she probably would have blocked Archer's swords.

"What the hell do you think your doing, Archer?" Shirou glares at him.

"..." His only response are his cold steel-grey eyes.

Saber readies her sword. "Bastard!"

"Archer! What are you...?!" Rin said.

Saber charges at Archer, ready to cut him down.

"Saber, stop! I'll deal with him."

"Stop speaking nonsense, Master! He is a Servant, he will kill you!"

"Saber... do you trust me?"

"Shir-"

"Do. You. Trust. Me?"

"...Yes"

"Good, then show that trust and watch. I will show you that I can defeat this guy!"

Archer, done with all the talking takes action. "Tch!" He charges again.

Shirou jumps back and drops the nameless sword, he then traces his/Archer's twin swords, he also runs forward, with each step, he gets closer and closer to the red knight.

They soon clash, a loud clang is heard when their blades connected. They both block, parry and strike almost as if they are in sync. Their exact fighting styles, only the slightest differences made it seem like a mirror. With each strike their blades chip, crack and dent until the final strike breaks both of them at the same time.

Shirou wordlessly traces them again, the same with Archer.

Saber, who can't stand on the sidelines anymore jumps in front of Shirou.

"Stand aside Saber, my business is only for that Master."Archer said.

"I will not! Your opponent is now me!"

"If that's so... I'll just have to go through you!" Archer charges again.

"Hold it right there!" They both stop, just barely. Saber almost slashing Archer with her invisible sword, and Archer is ready to pull his chosen weaponry from his inner world.

"From now on Emiya-kun and I are allies! So sheath those swords you two!"

"...What is the meaning of this Rin?"

She looks to Shirou. "Emiya-kun you said you found the source right?"

He nods, his eyes flickered to Archer, he is just making sure he wouldn't try anything."Yeah, I said that because earlier in the school there was this sickly-sweet odor in the air, so I only followed the direction it was getting stronger at."

She grins. "Yes, that's one of your characteristics isn't it? You're sensitive to the abnormalities in the world. Since I don't have an eye for this kind of stuff, I wasn't able to find the origin. Well... something like that anyway."

She looks to Archer, his arms are crossed and he has a rather bored look on his face. "Do you get it, Archer?" He looks back, his eyes linger on Shirou for a bit, he looks back to Rin.

"About using this guys abilities? Certainly, if the size of the barriers is like this than the generating magic circles will probably be in proportion."

Rin nods. "Exactly, if we borrow his abilities then discovering those magic circles will be easy, and if my sorcery isn't enough to eliminate them, we can at least make them totally useless. Furthermore wanting to stop these horrible barriers is a goal we agreed on. That's why we are allies."

She looks to Shirou and Saber. "The restart of the barrier will only be delayed for a few days, but if me and Emiya-kun can make the magic circles useless we'll gain more time. During that time we flush out Rider's Master and defeat him, any objections?"

Archer closes his eyes. "...It's up to you, whatever orders you give me I will obey."

She looks back at Shirou. "Well Emiya-kun, until we defeat Rider we have a truce! During that time we will share intelligence concerning our enemies, and if the time comes and an enemy appears we will team up, that's right since I was the one to propose things and not Emiya-kun I will take care of you in various ways. Of course you approve of that, right?"

"Yeah sure, that sound good." Shirou replies nonchalantly, he was more focused on Archer for now.

She gains a tick-mark. "What kind of response is that...? Anyway I have various preparations to do so we'll talk some more later. Let's go Archer." They walk away into the distance.

"I'm amazed that things turns out like this..." Shirou starts to sway on his feet until Saber catches him. "Shirou are you alright?" Her face etched with worry.

"Ah, don't worry anymore, my injuries seemed to have healed, its just those two fights took a lot out of me. If you hadn't come along who knows what would have happened. Thank you, Saber."

She shakes her head. "No, it's nothing. I should be the one apologizing, your directions were to stay at home and I disobeyed them. But I think this time its acceptable for the dangerous actions you were in. From now on should we stop attending school so we can focus on the Holy Grail War?"

"No, no that's not good, since I have to help Tohsaka search the school. Right now discovering who Rider's Master is takes first priority. Especially since he has his eyes on our school, there has to be some clues as well. Don't worry about me Saber, if I get in trouble again, Rin will be there, so I'll rely on them."

She hums in agreement. "You're right, I think I can trust Rin, but be careful of Archer he somehow has the air of staking you for some reason."

Shirou nods. "Yeah, I'll be careful." Saber and Shirou slowly walk home.

Meanwhile a red knight is deep in thought. _"That boy is a lot stronger, this never happened before, he was supposed to be an incompetent magus, one of the most sorry excuses for a magi I have ever seen. Yet he is able to use projection, and it seems my suspicion was right. Shirou Emiya is using tracing... and it's almost as good as mine... he is also able to fight Servants to a certain degree, and he seems to be hiding something... strange, strange indeed."_

"...What is it Archer? Do you still disapprove of my alliance with Emiya-kun?"

"...No..."

"I understand your feelings but, If I think stopping the barrier is our first priority, than this is the best choice."

Archer smirks. "But if that Master stands in our way, then well turn on him, right?"

Rin sighs. "...That thing with Emiya-kun before, do you have resentment towards him or something?"

"Don't be foolish, I just thought I'd take care of an easy opponent ahead of time."

"An easy opponent, huh...? Hmm, but I don't think Saber would make that easy."

She turns to look at the city. "Archer, about me I've been the head of the notable Tohsaka Magi Family for 10 years. This Fuyuki City is a land whose control has been entrusted to me by the magic association, I can't allow unknown origins nor their undiscovered lackeys to do as they please."

Archer nods. "I'm determined to stop those barriers."

"This is also my decision as the head of the Tohsaka Family."

"Yeah, if your that resolved then I won't say anything." Archer said.

Rin smiles. "Thank you, then from now on we'll move on without delay! Oh yeah, I'll also contact Kotomine, even now he's the administrator of the war which was dispatched by the Magic Association, he carriers out his role seriously."

* * *

"...I see, Yes you did well in contacting me, I will increase surveillance and undertake proper measures." He hangs up the phone.

"Hmm... Rider's Master, so this kind of bold action's has appeared. Has a great change finally appeared? What kind of conclusion waits us this time?" Kotomine looks out the window, silently waiting for the perfect moment.

"I'll be waiting, Emiya Shirou..."

Saber and Shirou soon reach the Emiya household. "I'm home!... Hmm? Sakura and Tiger didn't come today? For now I think I should make some food, I bet your hungry as well Saber." Shirou prepares dinner.

"...By the way Master, the alliance with Rin will last until Rider is defeated, correct? I would like to discuss what we do afterwards."

"What do you mean?"

"It's about that Archer, he might send another sneak attack. Being allies does not change the fact that were enemies fighting for the Holy Grail."

"You may be right, but that's not Tohsaka's style, suddenly turning on her allies right after cooperating with them. But... you could still be right, if she does attack us by chance, than we'll fight."

Saber nods. "Yes this plan will work, but like I thought, that Archer is cunning it would be best to not talk about being at such a disadvantage."

Shirou laughs nervously. "Ha, ha, ha... You mean Tohsaka is cunning."

Saber tilts her head slightly. "But shouldn't we talk about how Rin is a trustworthy person?"

"Do you really want to talk about how she will double-cross us? Today's discussion about working together strangely felt like a threat, she's a wolf in sheep's clothing, she's a completely different from the nice and proper Tohsaka I admire."

The sliding door is opened behind him. "Oh my, Emiya-kun, I'm honored you see me like that!"

"To-Tohsaka?!" He looks like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

She smiles innocently. "You should lock your doors when you talk about secrets."

"Wh-Why are you...?"

"I'm sorry, I called but no one answered so I came on my own."

"No not that! Why are you in my house?!"

"Oh? Didn't I say earlier we'd "talk some more later"?"

"No... you did say that but what's with the luggage?"

"Didn't I say this as well "I will take care of you in various ways." So from now on I'll be indebted to you here, please take care of me Emiya-kun."

While Shirou is trying to find an answer, one glaring and dreadful problem comes up, Shirou falls to his hands and knees and a cloud of depression appears above his head. "Fuji-nee's gonna kill me..." Rin giggles and Saber is confused.

"Well Emiya-kun, where should I sleep?"

"Um, there's a detached room so you could sleep there bu-" She's already gone.

"He-Hey wait up!" As if by magic the room is already filled with all her equipment, notes and other personal items.

"..." Shirou is silent, he can't think of anything to say.

"We should also take turns in making meals."

"Uh, Tohsaka?"

"I haven't had dinner yet so please make me a portion as well."

Shirou sighs. "Why are yo-" he's interrupted.

"In the morning I'll have a variety of bread, and if I could get black tea as well that be great."

"Just wait a min-"

"And we'll have to wash clothes separately."

"Hey! Sto-"

"Afterwards don't forget to knock, okay? We'll be working together from now on, so we have to cooperate on various matters, right?"

"WHY ARE YOU LIVING IN MY HOUSE?!" A little while later they are all sitting at the table drinking tea.

"Geez... it's because if we're going to constantly work together this is essential!"

"...That's not a good reason at all!"

She sighs. "Well Emiya-kun, don't you know others Masters may attack? and what if it's Berserker again! I wonder if you two can win...?"

"It will be one of the hardest fights I will do, but I have no doubt I can defeat him!" Shirou said.

"Yes, there is a chance of success if Shirou helps **slightly**." She looks directly at him and he laughs nervously. "I also still have my trump card." Saber said.

Rin crosses her arms under her chest. "Yes, but will it make a difference against a powerful opponent? But if Archer joins the battle then the situation will improve significantly, and even if we run it'll be more convenient.

You joined with us to stop the barriers, right? Wouldn't it be bad if we were defeated before we reach that goal? Furthermore when enemies move we'll be able to cooperate quickly, using the same base of operations will have the most efficiently."

Shirou's in though. "Hmm..."

"By the way Rin, where is Archer?"

"He's standing watch, since an Archer's eyes are like 'hawk's eyes' he is the best choice."

"I see, then we won't have to worry about enemy ambush." Saber said.

"Tohsaka, you have any idea who Rider's Master is?" Shirou is screaming inside, he wants to tell them, he wants to stop lying.

"About that, at first I thought it was someone related to school but... there are no other magi at the school."

"You sure?" Meanwhile Saber is enjoying herself in the background.

"I thought it was a possibility too, but experienced magi are able to recognize other magi, I looked and besides the two of us I found no one else."

Shirou perks up at this. "Wait, you knew I was a magus?"

She sighs. "...I didn't know about you, I wasn't able to identify you since you're a **hack**." Shirou shrinks down a little and grumbles.

"Anyway there are no magi at the school, so it has to be someone outside."

"How do we get him to come out though...?" Shirou asked quietly.

"Yeah... since his Servant probably sets the magic circles when no one was around, if we watch the school at night we might be able to catch him in the act."

Shirou shakes his head. "No I don't think that will work, a clever Master won't expose himself that easily, right?"

Rin shrugs. "I guess, after all we have no choice but to search the area anyway. That's all we have so far..."

Shirou notices Saber is quiet. "Hey, what's wrong Saber? You've been quiet for some time."

"No, it's because of your food Shirou, it is somehow more delicious than before, was this all made by Shirou?"

He nods. "Ah, yeah."

"Let me try." As soon as she takes her first bite her cheeks gain a slight pink hue. "...It's very good, But! You better look forward for tomorrow!"

Shirou's eyes burn with determination. "Oh? You plan to do better than me? You better be ready Tohsaka! For you shall fight in a battle where you will never win!"

* * *

After everything settles down, they start up their discussion again.

Shirou starts first. "So if we do find Rider's whereabouts, what kind of strength does she possess? If we can't defeat her it's meaningless." He had to ask something, even if he knew already.

Saber speaks up. "I think Rider herself is no problem, since she doesn't have a very large combat ability."

Rin speaks next. "Then it's as I thought... her Noble Phantasm will become a problem."

Saber frowns. _"Noble Phantasm..." _She remembers her dream with Rider and Shirou fighting against **her**.

"Saber, Saber, Saber!"

"Huh?"

"You okay Saber, you were frowning."

"It's nothing to worry about Master, I was just thinking of something."

Shirou doesn't look convinced but he nods.

"Emiya-Kun, you do know what a Noble Phantasm is, right?"

"I think so...? Can you explain it to me?"

Rin turns to Shirou, she gains a lecturing pose. "A Noble Phantasm is a symbolic weapon that becomes their trump card as a Servant. An example would be when Siegfried slayed the dragon using **Balmung**, his favorite sword. In other words, a Noble Phantasm is the mysterious item that makes a hero, a hero."

Saber speaks next. "Even now we possess that Noble Phantasm when summoned as a Servant, and that power has no relation to a Servants own strength. So when Noble Phantasms clash the purest strength wins, this is my reason for saying I have a chance for victory against Berserker."

Rin smirks. "Being able to match the Noble Phantasm of the Greek Hero Hercules... looks like you have great confidence in your own Noble Phantasm, doesn't it?"

"Naturally."

"So if you were to use your Noble Phantasm your identity would be revealed?" Shirou asks.

Rin smiles. "Exactly, a Noble Phantasm and a hero are a paired existence. Once you reveal your Noble Phantasm it's like opening a book with all the answers to the enemy."

"Shirou do you remember Lancer's spear?"

"Ah, yeah his spear was named Gáe Bolg or something, right? So that was his Noble Phantasm, huh?"

"Yes the demonic lance Gáe Bolg, it is a cursed spear, that always pierces an enemy's heart. His name is-" His mouth begins to moves, too late for him to stop.

"Cú Chulainn, Ireland's Holy Child of The Light..." He blurted out.

They both stare at Shirou.

"How did you know that Emiya-kun?"

Shirou rubs the back of his head. "Before when I used my ability called "tracing" I copied his Spear, I gained everything that he knew, how old the weapon is, how many times he's used it for battle and most importantly, his identity and history. Every weapon I see I instantly gain it's knowledge and I'm able to use it to almost full capability."

"So when you mean every weapon..."

"Yes, every weapon my eyes see are recorded to use again and again."

Rin is fidgeting, as she wants to ask something "...Do you... do you know who Archer is?"

Shirou couldn't tell her... he couldn't tell her he's an alternate future of Emiya Shirou who's hellbent on killing him. "Archer... Archer's a strange case. You see when I also traced those swords... they weren't his."

Shirou quickly traces the twin swords, refreshing his mind of their origin. "He seems to have picked them up some time during his life. They... they have no purpose, no vanity. They contain neither the desire to be famous nor the faith to accomplish great deeds. So they are empty swords, swords with a horrible past, meant to stay in the past... but, besides that, I don't think those were his true Noble Phantasm's anyway." He let the twin swords disappear.

"That's a very scary ability Emiya-kun, you called this ability "tracing", right? With your improper use of projection, and I'm guessing your constant use of structural grasping, you somehow created a better version, an upgrade so-to-say, of all the people, an incompetent magus like _you_ somehow created a new magic craft." She seems to be jealous and proud of him, not that Shirou would notice though.

"He, he, he..." Shirou scratches his cheek.

"In short I'm saying this, carelessly using a Noble Phantasm is capable of exposing ones abilities to an enemy." Saber said.

"I see..."

"So it's like this, even if we think Rider is weak we don't know what her Noble Phantasm is so we can't be careless." Rin said.

But Tohsaka, isnt that barrier one of the abilities of Rider's Noble Phantasm?"

"Which reminds me Rin, that barrier of her's was called Blood Fort Andromeda, it's one of her abilities."

Rin nods. "That's true, however I think that ability ties in with her class, I wonder if instead that barrier is unnatural...? But, I haven't heard of any Noble Phantasm called Blood Fort Andromeda, so we have no choice but to be cautious."

"Hey, Tohsaka do you think the recent events in Shinto are also Rider's actions?"

"The "gas leaks"? It may be a possibility but, the schools barrier swallows people whole and leaves not even the bones, while the events at Shinto left bodies... it wouldn't be hard to think it's the same person. But, anyway stopping the barriers at school is our first priority, but we have no information on the enemy so we'll have to wait until they make the first move. For now, Emiya-kun and I will help search the school for magic circles."

Shirou nods. "Understood."

"Well that settles that, for now we should take a break, since nothing happened so far we should rest while we can." They soon leave to their rooms.

* * *

Shirou is asleep with Saber and he has a dream, he is in a sea of fire, burning corpses and buildings, the screams and moans for help are heard everywhere. "...This dream again? Even though I haven't seen it much lately..." He notices something on the ground and the scene warps, his eyes widen in surprise, there are bodies everywhere. "...This is Rider's barrier!" He sees a unmoving boy with glasses. "Issei..."

A voice is heard behind him. "Shi...rou...?"

"Fuji-nee?!" Instead of his lovely sister, a melting corpse is on the ground. Her eyes are empty sockets, her face is falling off. "Help me, Shirou... please... help... me..."

Shirou closes his eyes, he shakes his head. _"This__ isn't real! Everyone's alright!"_

"You have failed, Emiya Shirou..."

Shirou turns around to be face-to-face with the red knight. "Archer?!"

"You have failed and you couldn't do anything about it, if you keep this up you will fall into a spiral of despair, forever alone, do you still want to follow this path?"

Shirou looks at him with determination. "Of course! Even if all this happened I will have no regrets, I will always protect the ones I love, even if others were to die around me... then so be it. I will never turn into you!"

Archer smirks. "That's what I wanted to hear." The surrounding area flashes white.

Shirou opens his eyes, all he sees is darkness. _"It was a dream..."_ He slowly untangles himself from Saber and goes outside. "What was with that dream? What was it's meaning...?" Why did he have to see Archer, again?

"Is something the matter, Shirou?" Saber's silence makes Shirou jump in surprise. Geez, she can be really quiet at times.

"Oh! Saber you're awake? I was just wondering what's happening now."

"Rin and Archer left earlier, it seems there is trouble in the city again."

"Oh, okay... I'm annoyed Saber, I'm annoyed there are people suffering before my eyes and I can do nothing but watch." He remembered his words, just like he said before, even if he's annoyed with the deaths of innocent lives... so be it.

"..." Saber and Shirou silently watch the moon.

Meanwhile, Rin and Archer are searching this city and have stumbled upon a mass of bodies. "What do you think, Archer?" Rin said.

"This is not Rider's work, the barrier's style is completely different."

Rin nods, satisfied with her Servants answer. "Yes, I agree, this is without a doubt the work of another Master. We'll have an opportunity soon, let's go Archer."

"Yeah but before that..." He swings his sword to fast for the strange moth to evade.

Rin gasps. "A familiar?!"

Archer nods, he watches the familiar fade away into dark purple dust. "Yeah, a rat somehow slipped in."

"...We'll talk more about this later, for now let's leave this place. I can't stomach this."

**Author's Notes:**

**Sorry for the long dialogue but this sets everything up for the next scene! Also this may upset some of you but I might not do the awesome fight scene between Archer an Shirou, the way I'm playing this story out will not fit... Another thing is, I know some of you don't like having Caster with Shirou and I completely understand, I know that she loves Kuzuki and he loves her so she'll be heartbroken for a while... I'm trying to make her warm up to Shirou and for him to fill the holes in her heart. Well I am just glad all you people are here giving your reviews and help so thanks! See you in the next chapter! Bye!**


	6. Chapter 6: A New Servant

"Normal Talking"

_"__Thoughts"_

Night turns to day and it's soon morning. Shirou is preparing breakfast. "Hmm... should I add another dish? Well breakfast is the days source of energy. That reminds me, Saber really likes to eat, even though Japanese style food has to be unusual for her, she really enjoys it." He smiles a bit, trying to banish the other foul thoughts that entered his brain.

"That gives me a good reason to cook." The front door opens behind him.

"Morning, Shirou~!"

"Good morning, Fuji-nee." He may be smiling but inside he's freaking out. _"Oh crap! How could I forget about Fuji-nee! She'll kill me when she finds out about Rin!"_

"Oh? Where's Sakura?" She looks around.

"Sakura's here?" Shirou's confused.

She scratches her cheek. "Hmm...? But I thought I saw her shoes at the entrance? Huh, I wonder if it's my imagination...?" Instead of checking again like a normal person would do, she walks into the dining room.

Shirou immmediatly pales. "Uwah!" He runs to Rin's room. "Tohsaka!" He bangs on her door. The door opens and a very tired looking eye peeks through.

"Leave me alone... I was out late yesterday so I'm going to sleep until the last moment." She mumbles through the door. Before he could reply she slams the door, and he heard an audible click, she locked the door...

_"If Fuji-nee and Sakura find out she's here...!" _He hears the door opening, he runs as fast as he can.

"Good morn-" Sakura sees Shirou is on the ground.

"Umm... Senpai? What are you doing?"

"Ah... I'm just doing some cleaning." He shoves the shoes under the cabinet. He could see that she didn't believe his words.

"Uh... l-let's go and prepare breakfast for everyone, I didn't start yet, so... can you help me, Sakura?" She smiles softly at Shirou's sheepish grin, she couldn't help but see how adorable he looked.

"Yes, let's go, Senpai." She said, they slowly walk into the kitchen, both sporting smiles of happiness.

* * *

Everyone finishes breakfast. "Thank you for the meal! I'll be leaving now!" Fuji-nee said. Before anyone could reply, she runs out of the house.

"Take care! I should probably clean up now."

Sakura stand up. "Ah, I'll help too."

"It's okay Sakura, I can handle it."

She shakes her head. "No Senpai, let me do this much, since I didn't visit last night." He wanted to protest, but a childish pout found itself on her face, any argument he had, died in his throat.

He couldn't say no to that face...

"In that case, please help me out."

She smiles. "Okay."

Saber enters. "Good morning, Shirou, Sakura."

"Ah! Good morning, Saber!"

"Good morning, Saber-san."

"I prepared some breakfast for you too Saber, so please enjoy it. We'll be going now!"

"Be careful, Shirou." Saber said, even if she had a slightly concerned look in her eyes, she trusted her Master.

* * *

After they finished cleaning the dishes, they walk to school. "Man, it's been a while since I've walked with you."

"It has, it's because I always have morning practice..." She suddenly stops, her happy expression becomes emotionless, there are only two reasons for that kind of expression...

"Sakura!" A voice said. Shirou tenses, his hands ball into tight fists.

She turns to see Shinji ready to slap her, she closes her eyes waiting for the strike.

"W-What are you doing, Emiya?" His voice is laced with pain.

She sees Shirou is holding onto his arm. "Enough, Shinji." He said through gritted teeth, how he wished he could break his arm right now.

Shinji tries to jerk his arm out of his grip, without success he then turns back to Sakura. "Why didn't you come to morning practice?! I took great lengths to show up but you embarrass me! Are you attempting to sabotage your brot-" Shirou's grip tightens to where Shinji hisses in pain.

"She was with me Shinji, if it was anyone's fault, it's mine." Shirou's eyes become molten balls of hated. Shinji almost broke into a cold sweat with that glare. But, he slowly steeled himself, already thinking that Shirou is an insect compared to him.

Shinji returns his own glare at Shirou. "This is our problem. Back off, Emiya." He turns to Sakura. "Sakura! Didn't I say it yesterday? Don't go near _that_ guys house." He speaks as if Shirou isn't there, as if that would offend him.

Her eyes gain a blank look. "But Nii-san... Senpai's family is dead, so it's difficult on his own..."

"Oh? You're talking back to me?" Shinji's arm relaxes, Shirou reluctantly releases him.

Shinji smirks. "You're wrong Sakura, he's a guy who likes to do everything on his own, he even retired quickly from the Archery Club, he didn't even appear concerned for us at all."

"But Nii-san forced him to do that..." Her comment falls to deaf ears.

Shinji continues. "I bet even the majority of our club was relieved to see him go! After all, this guy likes being alone!" He makes sure to yell this out so everyone can hear.

Most are giving sympathetic looks toward Shirou, and the others are glaring at Shinji.

"..." Shirou doesn't say a word, he didn't care. All he wanted was to keep Sakura as far away as he could from Shinji, and... that _**thing**_.

"...So cruel, that's going too far, Nii-san..." Shinji smiles arrogantly, seeing Shirou's silence as a victory for himself.

"Anyway, it would be good if you listened to me, stop going to this guy's house. _You got it_?" He stressed those last few words, he wasn't sending an empty threat, he was going to do something that would harm Sakura.

Like hell he would let him.

"...No, I will not even if Nii-san says so, I will not listen!" She said, her voice showing clear conviction that she will oppose her "brother".

"What?!" He growls. "You bitch, learn your place!" He raises his fist to hit her, Shirou also readies himself to defend her, almost tackling him to the ground, and beating him to near-death. Maybe to death, whichever comes first.

Sakura closes her eyes waiting for the hit, but like before... nothing happens.

A hand is holding his arm. "It's too early for this and you're noisy... and you're being a nuisance right in the middle of the street." Rin said.

"Tohsaka..." Shirou said.

"What, Tohsaka? We were just discussing club matters." Shinji said, annoyance clearly present in his voice.

She crosses her arms. "Then let me say this, I heard that participating in the Archery Club's morning practice is an individuals choice, is it really your choice to interfere with what Sakura does?"

"I'm Sakura's older brother." Shirou almost snorts at that. "Is it wrong for a brother to correct his sister's mistakes?"

Rin scoffs. "You're barking up the wrong tree, Shinji. Since she's not doing anything wrong. Futhermore, she's at the age where she can make her own decisions and be responsible for her own actions. Your just using your position as her older brother to satisfy your own selfish desire for control."

Shinji sneers. "That's a little extreme Tohsaka...!" He turns to Sakura. "Hey, Sakura! Since Tohsaka is standing up for you, I'll forgive you today!" He turns to walk, but Shirou is right in front of him.

"Shinji, if I ever see you try to harm her again..." It's as if a sudden pressure hits everyone around them, the feeling of dread is centering around Shirou.

**"It**** will be the last thing you'll ever do.**"

Shinji pales considerably, his knees almost begin to shake, he's using all his tricks right now to stay calm and superior. "...Hmph, I didn't ask for your input, if you go too far and get hurt it's not my fault." He shoves Shirou and walks away.

Rin frowns. "Seriously, that guy..."

"T-Thank you, Tohsaka-senpai, Emiya-senpai." Sakura said quietly.

"Don't worry about it!" Shirou said happily, his expression quickly changes.

"I'll make sure he never hurts you again, just tell me if something happens again, Sakura." Shirou said seriously, Rin also speaks up.

"No problem, since I was also a little upset just after waking up, I wonder if I said too much...? I should probably have _some_ respect for him in public." Rin's and Sakura's eyes meet for a split second, no one would have notices, all but Shirou of course.

"Very well, Senpai I'll be going." She leaves.

"I have things to do as well, see ya, Emiya-kun." As she passes Shirou she whispers to him. "The rooftop during lunch, okay?" She leaves as well.

Shirou sighs tiredly, a hand suddenly pats his back. "Yo! Thank's for that."

"Mitsuzuri! You were watching?" He gives her a mock glare. "Why didn't you help?"

She shrugs. "It's fine since Tohsaka was there to help, and besides when is it my job to protect the people outside the Dojo?"

"..." She's right about that.

"You know, Emiya? I didn't know you could make such a scary face! It made me almost feel bad for, Shinji." She playfully pinched his cheek.

"Is my little Shirou finally growing up? I didn't know you harbored such strong feelings for, our little Kouhai?" Shirou's cheeks redden slightly, and he slaps her hand away.

"W-What are you saying, Mitsuzuri?" She only laughs at his shy response. She smiles a bit more, until it sours a bit.

"Anyway... Matou has been really irritable lately, hasn't he? I saw him picking on some first-years this morning... we got control of the situation, but it was still unsettling."

"Hmm... well, I'll see you later Mitsuzuti, tell everyone I said hi." Ayako opened her mouth as if she wanted to say more, but instead gave a half-hearted wave, before she left as well.

* * *

It's soon lunch time and Shirou is headed to the roof. "Phew... I took longer than expected, I think she said we'll meet on the roof?" He opens the door.

Rin is standing there with an annoyed face, he notices she is shivering slightly. "You're late Emiya-kun!" She runs right up to his face.

"What's the big idea, making a girl wait in the cold?!" Besides the sudden fear he's feeling, he pushes on, quickly thinking on his feet.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry about that, here take this." He hand his school jacket to her.

"...Thank you..." When she puts it on, the sudden warmth of the jacket spreads across her body, the warmth that came from Shirou... she shakes her head with a red face. _"What's wrong with me?! Thinking about stuff_ _like__ that!" _

"...Hey Tohsaka, you, uh, okay? Your face is all red." He slowly begins to get closer to her.

Before she can even form a single sentence, Shirou gently grabs the back of her head and places his forehead against hers. Her entire face explode, even redder than her own red turtleneck... and also turning into a babbling mess.

"Hmm..." Shirou mumbled. She could feel his warm breath against her own lips, sending shivers down her spine. "You seem okay..." He looks at her with slight concern. Looking at her with those strong, trusting, and warm eyes...

She mentally slaps herself and shakes from her daze. "F-Fine, I'm fine!" She jerks away from his touch, she feels a tingly feeling on her forehead that spread across her entire body everytime she thought about it. He looks at her strangely for a moment, but shrugs thinking nothing of it.

"Well, sorry about that Tohsaka, do you, uh, want this drink I bought you?" He asked hesitantly.

"...A-Ahem. My, aren't you unexpectedly thoughtful..." She said, gaining back her confidence that Shirou unknowingly shattered. "Well come on! We're not standing to talk, so let's sit."

Before they begin to discuss what happened, Rin does something strange. "Umm, Tohsaka...? You're sitting a little too close..." He again looks at her strangely, feeling a bit uncomfortable with having a... rather cute girl sitting so close to him.

Her face reddens. "I-It's not like I want to... the wind is cold and if we share body heat we'll stay warmer." She said logically, but in the deepest parts of her mind and soul... she wanted to sit next to him, just so she can feel his body next to hers, to be closer to the boy that she-

Again, she mentally slapped herself. What is wrong with her today?!

"...I guess so." Rin takes a deep, calming breath and soon begins.

"Anyway, I went to check out Shinto last night, you want to hear about it, right?"

Shirou nods. "Yeah, so what happened?"

"What we found last night wasn't Rider's work, the magic used was something completely different." Rin said.

"So that means..."

"There were no clues indicating Rider, so we have no choice but to search steadily while we destroy the magic circles around the school as according to plan. You should also watch out for any suspicious people."

"Yeah, I know... having said that, since there at no Masters at the school there's little hope." Shirou mumbled, it soon became an almost awkward silence, before he spoke up again.

"By the way Tohsaka, I was surprised this morning, you know, surprised that you're acquainted with Sakura?" He had to make small talk.

"Well... only a little, we... spoke to each other from time to time. But you two look like really close friends." She seemed slightly uncomfortable talking about it.

"It's because she was a Kouhai in the same club as me, and various things happened and now I'm indebted to her now, and the reality is that Sakura and Fuji-nee... er, Fujimura-sensei always eat at my house." He's reminded of another problem. He grabs her shoulders and looks straight into her eyes, with eyes so sharp and serious, she would have thought she was looking at Archer.

She almost snorted. Yeah, right. Like that's possible.

"You should _really_ reveal yourself soon, I think it'll soon be impossible for you to hide."

"...Why? What seems to be the problem? Or... does it have something to do with, Saber?" She saw Shirou shiver slightly, it wasn't from the cold.

"...That... that was a complete disaster. When I introduced Saber, Tiger freaked out. A lot. She attempted to hit me multiple times with that cursed stick of hers, and only through sheer luck I got out of that, I really don't want that to happen again, so when the time comes you have to help me out."

"Hmm... we'll deal with that later, for now let's settle the matter at hand." Rin said.

"Yeah... then I'll work hard in finding the magic circles." She nods and they get up to go inside.

"See ya, Tohsaka."

"Yeah later, Emiya-kun." They depart separate ways.

While Shirou is walking down the hallway Issei notices him. "Hey Emiya! Where were you, and where's your jacket?"

"I was on the roof with Tohsaka and I gave her my... jacket..." Only after Shirou finished talking he realized his mistake.

Issei looks horrified. "What?! Why would you be with that She-Devil?! Come! We have to cleanse you before its too late!" He drags him off before Shirou can complain.

Meanwhile Rin is having similar problems, Mitsuzuri sees Rin. "Hey Tohsaka! Where were you, and who's jacket is that?"

"Hello Mitsuzuri, if you must know I was on the roof, and it was cold so Emiya-kun offered it to... me..." She also realized her mistake.

Mitsuzuri eyes go wide for moment and then she grins. "Oh? So you were alone with Emiya? What were you guys doing for him to give you his jacket? Heh, heh, heh... care to share?"

Rin's face glows red. "Noth-Nothing happened! We just talked!"

"That blush ruins that claim! I can't wait to tell the others!" She giggles while she's running away.

"He-Hey! Come back here! You better not say anything!"

* * *

Shirou is wandering around and soon reaches the Dojo, he closes his eyes and sniffs the air. _"...I can't feel anything around here... that reminds me, the source of the barrier was behind the school in the woods, so-"_

"Senpai!" He turns around to see a smiling Sakura.

"Do you have business at the Dojo?"

"No I'm just passing through."

"Well if it's okay would you like to drop in? I would love to see Senpai's shooting."

Shirou has an apologetic look. "Sorry, I'm a little busy right now, maybe next time."

"I see..."

"Sorry."

"No, it's okay Senpai."

"Is it okay for you to be here with me? Won't Shinji get angry?"

Sakura shakes her head. "Nii-San had some things to do today so he's not here."

Shirou snorts. "Well isn't that the same..."

"Um Senpai, I'm sorry about this morning, please don't think bad of Nii-san, okay?"

"...Did something happen?"

"No it's just that Senpai is Nii-san's only friend... even at home he talks about you a lot."

"Is that so...? Well I'm stuck with him, so I'll try to get along."

She smiles. "Please do." He raised his hand, he didn't want her to go. He wanted to stop her, and kiss her softly, to make her feel safe, away from any harm again. But in the back of his mind, he knew that was impossible right now, he had to get rid of the Tainted Grail once again to save the girl he loves...

He shook his head of these thoughts and gave a small smile.

"Do your best at practice!" She waves and goes back into the Dojo.

Shirou's cheerful smile turns serious. "Now then..." He suddenly feels a presence above him, but it's too late and Shirou feels a sharp pain hit his neck.

"Gah!" He falls to one knee but doesn't go unconscious, that really hurt though.

"Hmm... It seems your more resilient than I thought..." A voice said.

"Ri-Rider?" He sees the purple-haired beauty staring at his fallen form, she gets ready to strike again, Shirou reacts this time and rolls out of the way.

"What are you doing, Rider?!" She responds by sending a kick toward him, he blocks the hit, but the force slides him across the ground.

"Rider, Stop! Don't make me hurt you!" Shirou raises his hands to prepare for anything. Rider pauses, and does something very unusual, she giggles. It was a very strange thing to hear from her.

"You amuse me boy... if you must know, my... Master wants to meet you."

Shirou crosses his arms. "I thought I told you my name is Shirou... but your Master, huh...? Fine let's go." They soon reach the Archery Club House.

"Wait here, bo-... Shirou, my Master will be here soon."

"Wait, Rider." She pauses and looks from the corner of her covered eye.

"Why do you follow your Master's orders? I know you don't like him, so why?"

"...I must follow his orders no matter what, even if I don't want to."

"Did he use a command seal?" He needed to confirm it was the same as before.

"...Something like that..." She leaves with that cryptic message.

Shirou already knew who it was so he waited, he closes his eyes and meditates. A little while later the door opens, he could just feel that pathetic presence enter the room.

"Yo, Emiya! Sorry about being so rough!"

"Shinji..." He sees that overconfident smile on his face.

"...What's the meaning of this, Shinji?"

He smirks. "It's how it looks, I'm a Master like you."

"..." Shirou doesn't speak, he's just trying to hold back barely controlled rage.

Shinji takes that silence as a way to continue. "It's not unreasonable for you to be surprised, I'm amazed too. As a friend from long ago, I can trust you so I have something to ask you."

He sits down in one of the decorated chairs. "How about it Emiya, will you join me?"

Before Shirou could answer Shinji moves and punches Rider.

"!" Shirou gets up, now a Servant can _never_ be hurt by someone as weak as Shinji, but it still angers him to see her be treated that way.

"Seriously, if you think about starting the barrier, make sure Emiya isn't in danger."

"...I have no excuses, Master." She said quietly.

"So that's it, Emiya. Everything up until now has been her acting on her own, it was never my plan to make you an enemy. We're the same Emiya, shanghaied into a war we have no interest in, so it wouldn't be unnatural for us to join together. If we joined together not even Tohsaka could win. How's that? Not a bad plan?" He puts his hand on Shirou's shoulder. If he wasn't trying to be civil right now, he would have cut that disgusting hand off his shoulder, and burned the shirt he's wearing.

"I'm... sorry Shinji, but I have to say no, if it makes you feel any better I'll try to stay out of your way, okay?" Shinji's smile goes away for a second but soon returns.

"It's not the answer I wanted but it's better than nothing, remember Emiya if you ever change your answer you know where to find me."

Shirou nods and prepares to leaves. "Shinji, if I find out you're lying and you're the one who purposely put up the barrier..." He let that hang.

"Don't worry Emiya, I'll make sure Rider doesn't do anything."

As Shirou is leaving he encounters Rider at the door. "That miserable prick is such a horrible liar, I'm sorry you have to deal with him. Rider... have you considered my offer?"

"...I can't, even if I wanted to... I'm forced to follow him for now until he dies or I die." Shirou frowns, but nods slowly.

Shirou puts his hand on her shoulder, he felt a bit inadequate being a little shorter than her, but he can still get his message across. "I _will_ save you from him, Rider. Just hold out a bit longer." He quickly leaves into the cold night, he looks back and gives her a warm smile before he disappears.

A smile appears on her face. "...You're a very strange one... Shirou." She feels a... warm feeling spread across her chest, no one has treated her that nice in a very long time...

As soon as she returns she is yelled at by Shinji. The wam feeling disappears, being replaced by a cold, empty, void.

"You bitch! This is all your fault!" Her smile fades completely as she is forced to endure this idiot.

* * *

Shirou enters his house. "I'm home!" He hears hurried footsteps, and turns to see a very angry, _apron_ wearing Rin.

"Where have you been, Emiya-kun?!"

"I-I wa-"

"Never mind! We'll talk later, hurry up and come in."

"Umm...? What's with that get-up?"

She looks down to the apron. "Isn't this yours? I found it in the kitchen so I borrowed it. Didn't I also say we would take turns cooking meals?"

"Welcome back, Shirou!" Fuji-nee said. He sees Sakura and Saber there as well.

"Where were you, Shirou?" Saber said, her cold stare begins to unnerve him.

"Tohsaka-san's cooking is amazing! She's probably as good as you if not better! You should hurry and eat some!"

"E-Eh?" Shirou looks back and forth between Rin, Fuji-nee and Saber.

"I'll explain later, also what did you tell them Tohsaka?"

"Ah that, Shirou? She told us there would be no mistake."

"Eh...?"

"Hmm? Tohsaka-san's house is under renovation so you let her borrow the detached room, right?" She puts her hand on her cheek in thought.

"Uh... Yeah! That's right! Don't worry..." He laughs nervously, he turns his head to a very ridiculous scene.

Rin seems to glow with innocence and purity. "I am truly grateful for Emiya-kun's compassion for a school mate, thanks to him I no longer need to waste money living in a hotel."

Shirou's glowing with disbelief and uncertainty. _"Are you kidding me...?"_

Fuji-nee readily agrees with everything. "Yeah, Yeah! Because, one of Shirou's good points is he never turns a person in need away, but you will take care of her, right Shirou?" She begins to glare at him.

Shirou sighs. "Yeah, yeah I know..." He takes his first bite, and his eyes open in surprise.

"How is it, Emiya-kun? Does it suit your tastes?" She has a smug smile.

"So this is what you meant yesterday... Oh! By the way, Saber how do you like it?"

"It's very good... But I still prefer Shirou's cooking."

Shirou smiles. "I'm glad."

Rin straightens. "Even if you have such pride in cooking Emiya-kun, I have a reputation to hold."

"You're such a perfect woman..." He said sarcastically.

He sees Sakura is looking sadly down at her plate. "But, ya know... I think Sakura will surpass me in cooking soon, so wait for her food as well!"

"U-Um Senpai... I don't think I'm as good as you..." She shrinks down in her seat, shes completely embarrassed, it makes her look cute.

"Nonsense! That stew you made before was perfect! Even I couldn't do that!"

"Th-Thank you, Senpai..." She has a strong blush on her face but she's smiling.

Sakura and Fuji-nee soon leave and Shirou, Saber and Rin are alone.

"I'm going to use the bath now, so don't bother me."

"Yeah."

"Please wait, Rin. What do you plan to do for tonight's operation?" Saber said.

"I intend to go to Shinto again, I might find some clues about yesterday's suspect. Fuyuki City is a land under Tohsaka control, I won't let anyone do as they please."

"I see... then I'll go as well!" Shirou said.

Rin tilts her head in confusion. "That won't be necessary, this is completely unrelated to Rider, so it's my problem."

Shirou shakes his head. "That's not exactly true to me, Masters who attack people indiscriminately are unforgivable, and didn't you say that we would always operate together? And more importantly I have something to tell you..."

* * *

Shirou, Saber and Rin are patrolling the city, and he tells them about how Rider attempted to knock him out, how Shinji offered and alliance but the thing that Rin reacted the most to was telling them he's a Master.

"What! Shinji's a Master?! This can't be...! There can't be another Master at school!"

"But Tohsaka you were unable to detect my magic, right? Then..."

"No this is different, completely different, first of all Shinji shouldn't even be a magus. Here, let me explain, originally they were a foreign family of magi, called the Makiri but when they came to japan they later changed it to Matou, the Japanese land didn't agree with them, and considerably weakened their magus blood, soon enough the magic circuits that were part of their magus bloodline died off with Shinji's father's generation. In other words, the Matou family lineage has already faded away, so for Shinji to be a Master makes no sense..." She seems frustrated.

"But Rin, we must accept that if Rider follows his orders..." Saber said.

"...Right, I know so what did you say to him after he told his story?"

"I rejected his invitation of course, since I'm allied with you."

"I see, now is the time to defeat Rider!" Saber readies herself.

"No, not yet Saber. I want to avoid unnecessary battles, once he makes the first move then we'll attack." Saber frowns, but nods at his decision.

"So does this mean our alliance is at an end?" Saber said.

"Of course not! I just want to see how this goes. I'm sorry but I can't put faith in Shinji's words, even if he's harmless right now, finding out a Masters identity makes them easier to deal with, so we'll leave him alone for now."

"I see, but I think we should still take out the roots of evil while we can..."

"Don't worry Saber, we'll get that chance soon enough. Anyway, Tohsaka you said that the Matou were a line of magi, right? So Sakura..."

"Heh, your worried about her aren't you? Don't worry she's unrelated to the Holy Grail War." He smiles a fake smile. _"If only she knew..."_

They soon walk in a comfortable silence and Shirou is having the feeling of someone watching them. The figure smiles and raises her hand.

"!" Shirou spins around at the same time everyone else reacts. "Shirou, An enemy!"

Archer appears behind them. "Did you feel that, Rin?"

"Yes, this is the same feeling as before. Let's go Emiya-kun!" She starts to run off.

"Wait! Tohsaka, isn't that's the wrong direction? I'm sensing something in that direction."

"Archer, do you feel anything?"

"No, a little while ago there was a magic reaction in the heart of the city."

"I also do not think Shirou can distinguish between abnormalities..." Saber said.

"...But we shouldn't ignore Emiya-kun's ability for sensing abnormalities... we should split up."

As Shirou is running, he hears Rin. "Remember Emiya-kun! If the enemy is too strong you run!"

He uses reinforcement and pumps his legs to get there faster.

"Shirou, what is this way?!"

"I don't know! But something seems familiar... and something old and putrid is there as well..."

They arrive at large barren area of land. "Shirou, where are we?"

"...Long ago there was a great fire here... this park was made from those ruins."

Shirou senses a presence behind him. "Watch out, Shirou!" She appears next to him in a flash and slashes a humanoid skeleton. "Please be careful!"

"Trace On!" He grasps his twin swords readying himself for the skeletal army before him.

"We're surrounded!" They both go back to back slashing, blocking and destroying as many as they can. Suddenly, Shirou feels a large magical build up and jumps in front of Saber and traces as many swords as he can and creates a barrier, a large explosion is soon created.

"Shirou!" As soon as the smoke clears she sees he's alright, he just has a couple of cuts and he's slightly singed in places.

"I'm alright, but something was off about that magic, it felt... old, no _ancient_."

"Are you Saber's Master, boy?"

"A new Servant?!" He turns to see a cloaked figure. _"Who is she?" _She appears to be in a large robe like cloth that covers her body completely, she is wearing a very simple robe which is black and purple with gold trimmings. It also appears to have a metal ring with a ruby attached holding a part of the robe together.

Memories begin to flow through his brain, he feels he should know who she is, he feels like this happened before. His eyes widened in realization. It suddenly hit him like a tsunami.

**Caster.**

"Are you really her Master? You have such weak reserves, yet... you seem to be hiding something..." Shirou tenses ever so slightly.

"I feel sorry for Saber, if she was summoned by me, then this wouldn't have happened."

"Be silent, Caster!" Saber growls.

"Though, I'm quite amazed that your Master got out of that with minimal injury... his magical resistance is pitiful. So it's more surprising the more I think about it."

She smiles. "What an interesting fight, certainly worth the wait."

"You separated us from Rin, which also means to divide our powers... to me however, these are all useless tactics! You can't win against me, Caster!" She charges and attempts to cut her down, but all she hits is an illusion.

"How about this, Saber!" She chants a few words and launches a magical blast at Saber, she is consumed in the blast but soon brushes off the attack like nothing.

"Quite amazing... You certainly have a strong force against anti-magic." She then gets her army to attack again.

"Even if my magic won't effect you... it will still hurt your Master!" She sends another magical blast.

"Shirou!" She defends with her sword, cutting the magic in half, sending the two halves into the ground.

"Ha! This kid is your weakness, Saber." She then sends a barrage of crescent shaped energy blasts, Saber blocks most of them, but one hits Shirou in the arm.

"Are you alright, Shirou?!" He could already feel the wound closing up.

"Don't worry about it! Focus on Caster!" Saber is forced to fight the skeletons and defend Shirou.

"Saber! If we defeat Caster these things will go away, right? Do you have any ideas?" Shirou had many ways to defeat her but using _them_ this early on will only raise many, many questions, some that will probably get him killed.

"Yes, I have one but..."

"What, is it? Tell me..."

"If I use my Noble Phantasm and I activate it, everything including Caster will all disappear."

"Everything? No, Saber we can't do that, it'll be too much."

"But Shirou if we keep this up..."

"Yeah, I know because of me, you can't do as much, so I'll protect myself and give you enough time to defeat her!"

"Are you crazy?! There are too many for you to handle!"

"Go, Saber. I don't care about my life anymore, I've already made up my mind to protect the people I love from people like them! We'll have to get out of here without using your Noble Phantasm, NOW GO!"

"...Be careful Shirou! Please last for 30 seconds!" She charges at Caster, destroying everything in her path.

Shirou is slowly surrounded and everything seems to slow down, but besides the horde before him, he smirks "30 seconds, huh...? That's more than enough time to destroy them!" He charges and swings his blades destroying each one in an instant.

But with each one destroyed two took its place, it was like fighting a hydra. Shirou was starting to get slowly pushes back and with each swing of his swords the enemy's were getting closer, one got close enough to slash his arm.

"Tch!" He is starting to get injured, he throws his swords and traces more and more until the air is filled with them, he throws, slices and catches each blade, he feels his brain burning with complete concentration.

His tactic is working, he's slowly annihilating the army. But it's still not enough, the traced swords soon break and the skeletal soldiers advance toward Shirou, they are soon upon him and are delivering more and more damage across his body.

"I guess it's time..." Shirou closes his eyes and releases the 'Shroud' he is once again filled with pain, but he is able to push the demons back, his swings are black and white blurs in the moon-lite sky.

It's still not enough.

They attempt to slash at Shirou but the swords that rip out of his body protect him for now. _"Hurry Saber! I can't keep this up much longer!" _Shirou doesn't notice a couple skeletons sneak up on him and skewer his body.

Saber is fighting Caster but is hitting nothing but air. "Hmm... perhaps I misjudged your Master, using projection to such a high degree... and having that sudden power boost as well... heh, he's more interesting than I thought." Saber gets behind her and slashes at her body.

"Hmph, no matter what you do, it will not work." She notices something behind Saber.

"Hehe, good job boys, for distracting her... Remember Saber, I am one step closer to winning the Holy Grail!" She dissolves into the air.

"It was... a fake?! Damn it!" She turns. "Shirou!" Her eyes widen when she sees him, he has multiple gashes, and swords are sprouting all over his body again but the most damage seems to be the bone like swords that's in his stomach and chest.

"I-I'm alright..." he drops to his knees and vomits blood.

"Shirou!" She helps him up and notices his wounds can't heal with the swords in his body. "Shirou, this is going to hurt..." She grabs the one in his gut and gives one swift yank, Shirou grunts in pain.

"One more, Shirou hang on..." She attempts to pull it out but it's stuck, she could use more strength, but she would just cause more damage. "It seems to be stuck between your ribs... Shirou we need Rin's help!"

"No... I can handle it." He grabs the one in his chest and pulls as hard as he can, you could hear his ribs forcibly break, Shirou nearly yells out in pain, he has to cough out some blood to speak.

"Le-Let's go home, Saber." She supports him for their slow walk home.

* * *

"So the Caster that was controlling the soldiers was a fake..." She puts bandages on Shirou.

"Rin, what happened to the area you checked on?"

"Same as yesterday, a karaoke place was attacked. Oh well." She tightens the bandages on him.

"Ow! Tohsaka, that hurts!" She gives him a disapproving stare and slaps his back.

"Ow! Why?!" He glares at her.

"If you're a man stop complaining!" She looks at his body and is still amazed. "You have such a weird body Emiya-kun, you're already almost healed... I didn't have to use any of my healing techniques."

"So what should we do now Tohsaka?"

"Well, now since the enemy has made their move, we can't just do nothing. Right now Archer is following the magic trace. Hopefully we'll be able to find where she resides."

_"Rin..."_ She puts her hand up to her ear. "How's it going, Archer?"

The scene goes to Archer. "I lost it, the magic trace left behind must have been a trap set by Caster, lots of mammoth soldiers suddenly attacked me. Yet, I can still feel a slight trail... If I keep following it, then maybe..."

It goes back to Shirou, Saber and Rin. "So that's what it is!" Rin said.

"What is it, Rin?" Saber said.

"I've always suspected, in both cases we did not see Caster there at all. In this case, how do you think Caster managed to take all the souls that she sucked up?"

"Could it have something to do with the magical exchange?" Shirou asked.

"No, even if she were to do that, the mana needed would be way too inefficient..."

"So that means..." Saber mumbles.

"There's only one place where currently a lot of people gather..."

"So it's the Temple outside in the forests... that's where Caster most likely is, right?" Shirou said.

Saber prepares herself. "Now that we know Caster's whereabouts, there is no reason to let her do as she pleases. Let's go and defeat her now!"

"No wait! We don't have enough information right now. Even if we know who she is we don't know her capabilities, besides we don't know what her Noble Phantasm is either and no deaths have occurred yet so let's wait a bit."

"Then I guess it's just the two of us, Shirou." She looks to him, but notices an uncertain look on his face.

"No... Sorry, Saber."

"What?! But, Shirou!"

"I agree with Tohsaka on this, I don't think we'll gain anything if we attack now, if were too anxious we could die besides, we still have Rider to deal with so we have to sit and wait for now."

He might have agreed, but he knew next-to-nothing about Caster's abilities and true potential.

"..." Saber wants to protest but reluctantly stops herself.

Everyone is back at the Emiya household and it's the dead of night, Saber waits until everyone is asleep and silently removes herself from Shirou.

She sees him frown slightly so she caresses his cheek softly, a small smile appears on his face and he settles down. _"I... I am a Servant who disobey's my Master's orders, but..." _She remembers Shirou facing down the army.

"_I don't care about my life anymore, I've already made up my mind to protect the people I love from people like them!" _She looks to the sky.

_"Shirou, you won't live long if you think like that..." _She activates her armor.

"I'll just have to bring victory by myself! I'll defeat Caster for my Master who can't fight for himself!" She disappears into the night.

...

Meanwhile Shirou is having a recurring dream._ "As for me Shirou, I always wanted to be a man of justice."_ Kiritsugu said.

The younger Shirou speaks._ "What are you talking about? You're a Man of Justice already, besides you saved me after all."_ He smiles.

_"Ha ha ha, even then there are limitations to being a Man of Justice. Like when you become an adult, it's something very hard to do."_

He closes his eyes._ "So I've already..." _The dream suddenly ends and Shirou wakes up to darkness, a lack of warmth at his side.

"Saber...?" He sees the empty space where she should be laying. "Damn! Did she go to Caster?!" He gets up. _"I have to make it...!"_ He releases the 'Shroud' slightly and uses it's power to boost his reinforcement far beyond his maximum. _"Please be safe, Saber!"_

Saber is in front of the temple steps, another figure is watching from the woods. _"Saber... Just as I thought, she came. Probably to challenge Caster, it'll be good if she defeats her, and will be better if she falls with Caster, but..." _He reaches his hand and a magic barrier fizzes against his skin. _"A barrier... probably set by Caster or it's the temple itself, I'm not sure... It seems like I'll have to go through the front."_

Saber is speeding up the stairs at an alarming rate. _"Of course, there would be a barrier that blocks enemies. But whatever it is I'll defeat it!" _She almost reaches the top until a figure is seen. "Is that a Servant headed my way?" Saber halts her movement.

"Who are you!" He slowly gets up.

"I'm someone who's been named to guard the entrance to this place. If you turn around now, I'll let you go, but if you insist on going in you have to get past me!"

His shadowed appearance is revealed, he is a rather tall man with kimono that has a mix of blue, dark and light purple with gold trimmings, he has long dark blue hair, held together with a purple string, on his back he has a very long sword as well.

"Servant Assassin, Sasaki Kojiro!" He yells out.

"Assassin?!" She brings out her sword. _"Why is another Servant here? That name sounds Japanese... a Servant who revealed his true identity, impossible! But since he's revealed his identity, as a knight I also must..."_

"Hello, Kojiro my true name is-"

"No need for that." He interrupts, he begins to walk down the steps. Saber has a surprised look on her face.

"There's no need for you to tell me your identity, I just do that as a part of my courtesy. We'll talk with our swords."

Saber is surprised. "Assassin you, already know I'm a swordsman?"

He smirks. "Even if I can't see your sword, I can feel the sense of battle within it."

Assassin draws his long katana. "Let us fight now Saber, the Strongest Servant with a sword."

Saber brings out her invisible sword. "Very well, I accept your challenge!"

At the same time Shirou is still running toward the temple. "Damn it, I need to go faster!" He releases the 'Shroud' even more to pump his legs with the foreign prana. _"Going by herself, what is she thinking! I hope that the Caster of this war is not different from the one of my war... you better be alright, Saber!"_

Saber and Assassin clash, Saber is forced to immediately jump back. _"How? I am faster, stronger and even heavier, yet he's hard to fight against... especially with that abnormal sword of his... such a long sword should be easy to defeat, but... I can't even get close!"  
_

Archer is also observing the new Servant. _"So Sasaki Kojiro is his name huh...? Using that 5 foot long sword and a Chujo-ryu fighting style... it's not surprising he can fight Saber at the same level. In that case his sword should be his Noble Phantasm."_ He feels blurry memories brighten in his mind.

Saber is having similar thoughts. _"Just what is going on? I can't sense any magic or any kind of spirit coming from that sword, is that thing not his Noble Phantasm?_

He relaxes his stance. "Hmm, you're much more of a challenge than I thought, but..."

_"He let his guard down?!" _Saber speeds toward him. "Are you underestimating me, Kojiro?!" At the last possible second he leans back, dodging the sword by millimeters.

"What!" Saber yells.

He puts his sword on his shoulder. "Alright, I know all about you sword now, I'd say about 1 meter long and 4 inches thick. Hmph, certainly a sword that fits your name, Saber."

"How did-" She waits for the next move. "_How did he figure out my sword in such a short amount of time?" _

"So Saber, there's nothing to be afraid of now. Stop hiding the true face of your sword."

"...What do you mean?"

He points his sword at Saber. "Your blade... it's still in its sheath isn't it? Or do you think that is good enough for me?"

_"Did he see through my wind barrier too?!" _She stays silent.

"Still won't let me see it? Well then... I guess I have to show you mine." The wind slowly picks up around him.

_"His power just increased, is he planning to use his Noble Phantasm?" _

Kojiro brings his sword to his side and raises it slowly into the air, he quickly gets into a two handed stance with his back turned from Saber.

Prepare yourself Saber, or else you will die..."

**"Tsubame...!"** He brings down his sword.

**"GAESHI!"** Two simultaneous strikes approach Saber.

She sees herself being cut in half, and at the same time being decapitated. _"Unavoidable?!... No, there!" _She is able to jump away and rolls down the steps _"What was that?! If I didn't dodge I would have died!"_

"Hmm, even though I would like to say you dodged that pretty well Saber, I didn't have the correct footing so I was only able to get two shots off." He moves to a new spot. "There, this is a perfect spot. You still won't release your Noble Phantasm? You better do it soon because with the next shot, you won't be able to dodge, so pull out your sword, Saber!" He said.

_"What move was that? I had no choice but to dodge..." _She notices her arm guard slowly starts to crack until it shatters into multiple pieces, her arm is bloody and cut up.

"Argh!" She clenches her bloody fist. _"What do I do...?"_

Archer is still observing. _"So that's Tsubame Gaeshi, eh? He attacked from the top side of Saber, no... that technique has two consecutive arching blades that close in on the enemy from all sides to create a prison, allowing no chance for defense or evasion. Saber only dodged because it was incomplete and she still got injured... he's able to bend space and time to create those slashes, he made something impossible, possible! Something like that shouldn't exist! Yet up until now, I could not sense any Phantasm coming from his sword. He's a Servant that can match Saber without using his Noble Phantasm at all!"_

Assassin looks on with disinterest. "What? You look surprised, you know I found this out by accident. I was trying to cut down a swallow and by the time I did, I developed this skill."

"How is this possible? To be able to slash more than one time. Very few could do this, in fact, it's impossible, but if what I dodged really happened..." Saber asks.

"That's right, Tsubame Gaeshi actually has three slices, but due to the position I was in, I could only achieve two." He gets back into his stance.

"Before you were able to dodge it. But now, I have enough room, you can taste the real Tsubame Gaeshi, what will you do now eh, Saber?!"

_"His Noble Phantasm is undodgeable. There is no next time so I have to attack before he does. Normal attacks won't work, I have to beat him in an instant or else he will still hit me, that means I have to make this move!"_

Saber lifts her sword. "Alright then, I'll do as you wish! I'll use my Noble Phantasm to beat your sword! Release, Wind Barrier!" The wind all around picks up, it's so strong the entire forest is shaking from the power.

"Hmm, as swift as the wind." He looks at her sword, a golden light begins to slip through. _"But this isn't her full power..."_

Shirou reaches the steps and is nearly pushed off his feet. "This feeling... no! She can't use that...!" He sees Saber is fighting someone he doesn't recognize. _"Another Servant?!" _He runs up the steps. "Saber!"

_"Uhh... My Phantasm will waste a lot of mana... but I can't retreat now, I need to beat him in order to advance. I need to use my power to beat him!" _She raises her sword. "Here I come, Kojiro!" She is about to strike.

He sees something in the corner of his eye. "Wait just a moment, Saber." He silently pulls out a dagger and throws it at Archer, he immediately disappears.

"What's going on!"

He sheathes his sword. "We better stop for now, someone is trying to peek at your Noble Phantasm, Saber. Jeez, that outsider just killed my mood to fight."

"Wait, Assassin! We still don't know who the winner is yet!"

"I originally wanted this fight to be between only us a fight to the death, besides someone is here for you... Oh? Wait, it seems I still have a fight." In one swift motion he redraws his sword.

Shirou is speeding in. "Saber!" He traces his swords and leaps over her and brings his swords down on Assassin, he easily blocks the twin swords, no... more like he re-directed the brunt of the force. He smirks slightly at Shirou's angry glare.

"Who are you?!" The man only keeps that small smile. They soon clash and with each hit, small shock waves form, but Shirou is easily outmatched, even with his reinforced strength, Assassin is much more skilled.

"Servant Assassin, boy." Shirou only glares until he sees his sword.

"So, Sasaki Kojiro that's your name..."

Assassins eyes widen. "How did you..."

Shirou jumps back and drops his swords. "Trace On." He closes his eyes and a weight falls into his hand, he opens his eyes and Assassin's sword is in his hand.

"When I copied your sword, I was able to see your history, but most importantly I can utilize you ability as well!" Shirou slowly brings his sword up an gets into a two handed stance with his back to Assassin. Shirou fully releases the 'Shroud'.

He smiles. "Interesting!" Assassin goes into the stance as well.

"Tsubame..." Assassin said.

"Tsubame...!" Shirou yells.

**"GAESHI!/GAESHI!" **They both roar at the same time.

They both clash and each hit is simultaneously struck, but since Shirou is only human he's only able to achieve two, while Assassin finishes all three.

...Ow... were those his muscles tearing? He's pretty sure he ripped apart the muscles in his arms right now... it makes sense though, like he said...

He's only human.

"Guh!" Shirou is forced back when his chest is slashed, only due to the full release of the 'Shroud' and sword-like armor coming out of his body prevents a fatal strike. He gets up and prepares to fight again.

"Heh... not a bad Master there, Saber. Take a rest for tonight, we'll finish our fight next time." He slowly walks up to the temple steps. _"Heh, interesting boy, interesting indeed..."_

He turns around. "Saber are you alright?" He sees her bloody hand.

"Shirou! What are you doing here! You're injured!" She attempts to scold him more but with her first step she falls into Shirou's arms.

"Hey, hey! Saber? Saber!"

**Author's Notes:**

**Sorry it took so long for this chapter, I have no excuses, I'm just a slow writer. Anyway some of you still don't agree with Caster, but I want her to be with Shirou and the one's who agree, be happy! But to those how don't, sorry. The encounter with Rider will happen in the next chapter, so don't worry. So I will see you in the next chapter, Bye!**


	7. Chapter 7: Death is Inevitable

"Normal Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

Shirou's running through the streets.

Saber's tightly in his arms, her condition is wavering too much, it's not bad but definitely not good either. She's sweating heavily, and her body feels hot, too hot for any person, let alone a Servant of her caliber.

He grit his teeth and started to run faster than before, his stomping feet were beginning to crack the ground, his growing speed would be a red and blue streak to a normal human.

Shirou soon reaches his house and immediately goes to wakes Rin. He gently lowers Saber to the ground, and quickly barges down the door to Rin's room, and... his face goes completely red.

She's sleeping in frilly, black and white undergarments, her legs and arms are wrapped around a large pillow, and a bit of drool was leaking out of her mouth.

He'a frozen in place, his body is shaking in fear and embarrassment. His eyes couldn't help but wander to her open shirt... revealing her flawless stomach... smooth leg-

No! No! Bad thoughts! Bad thoughts!

He shook his head of the _very_ lewd thoughts that entered his brain. He quickly resolves himself and shakes her quickly. "Tohsaka! Tohsaka! Wake up!" He feels like his decision is going to get him hurt, again.

And... boy, did she wake up.

Her sleepy eyes, were still looking at Shirou's panicking face, and she grumbled something under her breathe, and laid her head back onto her pillow.

For about 5 seconds, or so. It seems she finally realized what was occuring.

"KYAAAA!" She grabbed the nearest pillow, the one she was hugging, and used it as a makeshift weapon, striking Shirou across the head. He's sent to the ground, somehow cracking the ground from the sheer force.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, YOU PERVERT?!" She starts kicking Shirou's downed form.

"Ow! Wait, Toh-!" Her foot slams into his face, sending him right back to the ground.

"I don't want to hear it, _Emiya_!" Her voice, clearly laced with enough venom to melt a car. She was going to beat him up some more, but a slight groan outside the open door made her pause. She saw the familiar blonde-hair, being deathly still. Meaning something was wrong, or worse...

She looked and glared between the door, and Shirou. Who still hasn't moved, only slightly shaking in fear.

Using a bit of common sense, she finally calmed down enough to speak. "You have a lot of explaining to do, Emiya-kun..." Her voice still as cold as ice.

After her initial shock and embarrassment went away, she helped put Saber in his room.

"Tohsaka, could you... come outside?" They get up and close the door behind them.

"Can you tell me if her injuries are serious? She's been asleep for quite a while." Shirou said with concern.

She shakes her head slightly. "Don't worry, a Servant can heal from any injury in time, it's something else that made her lose consciousness. When a Servant cancels out their Noble Phantasm, it's not an easy task. It's like switching off something that wants to desperately come out, in this case it's her mana. Still that shouldn't hurt her much. Just let her rest and she'll be fine." She looks at Shirou's injury.

"Are you sure you're alright, Emiya-kun?" Shirou looks down at his bloody shirt, also noticing, no major injury is present.

"I'm fine, you don't worry about it. I think it's fully healed anyway."

She hums in acknowledgement. "Well Emiya, I hope you learned from this incident, you need to take better control of Saber. It won't be good if she keeps using her Noble Phantasm, especially if she runs out of mana. The worst case that could happen is she disappears on the spot."

"Hmm..." Shirou hears slow movement and turns around, noticing Saber approach.

"Saber, are you okay now?" He goes to help her, but she puts a hand up to stop him.

"Yes." She continues talking. "There's no need to worry, I'll know when to use my Phantasm, there's no need for you to tell me that. Assassin is an enemy worth using a Noble Phantasm against." She looks down to her hand, slowly closing it into a fist.

"Besides, I'm confident I can defeat him with it. That's something I'm not wrong on, if you have any doubts I'll go and fight him again." Her legs suddenly give out and she's forced to lean against the wall.

"You idiot! Don't push yourself too hard!"

"What?! I know Caster and Assassin like the back of my hand, now is the perfect time to attack!"

"Didn't I say it already?! We still need more information on those two!"

"Stop speaking nonsense! If we keep avoiding battles like you do, than we'll lose no matter what!"

"Even in your current situation? Can't you just listen to me for just once?! Besides, don't Servants need to listen to their Master! Unlike you who ran off without me, you who was losing against Assassin!"

She grits her teeth. "I did not LOSE! I would have defeated Assassin with my Noble Phantasm, had you not come barging in out of nowhere! Besides, the reason I went there was because of you Shirou! A kid who has no experience in battle at all!"

**"ENOUGH!" **Saber and Rin flinch from his voice, he takes a couple calming breaths.

"If I could fight, then you'll listen to me, right? The encounters with Lancer, Berserker, Rider, Caster and Assassin showed me how much more I need to improve on, so if I could fight better I'll take over for you in battle!"

"Huh...?" She asked dumbly, she couldn't think of anything else to say.

Shirou starts running outside. "Go to bed and sleep now! I'll fight you're battles from now on!"

"Wait Shirou! Are you serious?! Shirou!"

Rin sighs and she rubs her head, already feeling a growing headache. "Jeez..."

Shirou is outside, and training with his swords he swings them around and uses the fighting style of Archer. _"Damn it! I need to get stronger!" _He swings them against a tree and only leaves deep gashes, he reinforces his arm out of frustration and punches the tree causing it to break, continuing his frustration, he lifts the broken tree over his head and throws it across the area.

Shirou is panting heavily, he feels a presence behind him. "Geez, for once I'm applauding you for your idiocy." _  
_

"Tohsaka..." He looks back and looks at a slightly annoyed Rin, her gaze drifts to the broken tree, slight approval in her eyes.

"Saying you'll take over for Saber and, what did you say? "Fight her battles." huh?"

Shirou sharply turns his head away, his cheeks redden a bit from embarrassment. "Shut up, I mean it..." He said quietly, almost too quiet for Rin to hear.

She gains an "are you serious" look. "What did you say...? Do really think that you have the power to match a Servant? Even with your... abilities, do you also think the Servants ever took you seriously?" She starts to tick off fingers.

"With Rider, she just toyed with you in the forest. Do you think she used any of her abilities? Archer, was still injured from Saber so when you two fought he wasn't at full strength, and don't even get me started on Lancer..." She mumbled the last part, she almost shivered when she remembered seeing Shirou's unmoving body, a large pool of blood under the hole in his chest.

"...W-Well, I mean..."

"Jeez, it's too late to take that back now, but... what's wrong with that?"

"Tohsaka...?" Shirou tilts his head in confusion.

She turns and smiles. "I like the way you are now. Try your best... I'll help you if necessary. I want my partner to be stronger after all. But, you'll still never beat me in a fight."

Shirou sweat drops. "Really, Tohsaka...?"

"He, he, he... work hard, Shirou I want to see an even bigger improvement from you." She returns inside.

Shirou goes inside and lays next to Saber, he closes his eyes, but he hears rustling and opens his eyes. Saber's calm green eyes bore into his. "Shirou are you awake?"

"Yeah... what reason?"

"I need you to go to the Dojo in the morning, it's important." She said.

"Ah, yeah that sound fine..." He doesn't hear anymore talking so he lays down and drifts back to sleep.

* * *

Shirou wakes up and is met with an empty space, he remembers last night and what Saber told him to do, so he freshened up and heads to the dojo.

He opens the door and sees she is relaxing in a seiza position. "So, Saber what do you want to talk about?"

She opens her eyes. "Shirou... I thought about what you said yesterday... and I find it very hard to let you do the fighting, but I know you won't give up on it, so..." She throws one of the wooden swords she has at Shirou, he catches it calmly.

"I challenge you to a fight, Shirou! Even if you beat me once, that counts as a victory for me." She points her wooden sword at him.

"Huh?"

"But if I win, then you take back everything you said yesterday. This is how you would battle a Servant."

"Umm, Saber-"

"Any objections, Shirou?"

"..." He doesn't speak he only gets into a stance, she notices this and gets ready as well.

"Then... let the battle begin!"

No one moves, everything is silent._ "Does she really expect me to just jump into a match like this? She's a Servant of the sword! It's like putting a match next to a torch! I'll just have to go all out in the beginning!" _Shirou reinforces his body to the max and charges at Saber, she instantly side-steps his charge and attempts to smack him in the head, but he narrowly dodges.

_"Holy crap! I barely saw her!" _Shirou turns around and attempts to strike Saber's side but she easily deflects it. She calmly looks with a slight hint of surprise in her gaze. Shirou speeds toward her again and slashes at her attempting to get at least one hit. She dodges each attempt smoothly. Shirou is panting slightly while she didn't even break a sweat.

She smiles. "My turn, Shirou. Prepare yourself!" Her moves are lightning fast, Shirou can't even keep up with most of them, only his reinforced body prevented him from a knock-out. Saber does an over-head strike that Shirou narrowly blocks, breaking his Shinai in two, Saber doesn't stop.

She keeps charging, forcing Shirou into a corner, she thinks she has the final strike until he rolls under her strike and picks up two new swords, he utilizes Archer's style of fighting next. Shirou smiles, he at least has a better chance. He also uses slight reinforcement so they don't break like before. He charges again and she is actually forced to step back with Shirou's strike. He purposely leaves openings so she goes for them, he then predicts and takes that opportunity to use his other sword to attack her, it still doesn't work.

"Hmph, so you purposely leave opening so the enemy thinks you're a clumsy idiot with a sword, and then you deal damage to them with a sneak attack... this is a suicidal type of style Shirou! You won't live long with that!" She charges again and Shirou is forced to block a strike that sends him slamming into the wall. He gets up and waits for her to move as well. They both charge until...

"Good morning, Shirou!" She waves, not noticing what's happening.

"Fuji-nee?!" Shirou trips and falls onto Saber, where she 'eeps' and they fall in a tangle of limbs.

"Ow, ow... huh?" His eyes are closed and he feels a warm sensation on his lips, he opens his eyes and sees he's on Saber again... and their lips are touching! Shirou's face lights up like a furnace and Saber also gains a red blush as well. Everything is silent until a Tiger's roar is heard.

"SHIROU! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! YOU'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF POOR SABER-CHAN, AREN'T YOU?!" She readies her shinai and her eyes are on fire. "DIE, SHIROU!"

Shirou sighs, he rubs a fresh bruise on his cheek. He starts to cook until he hears a dreary groan behind him.

"Morning..." She shuffles across the floor, her hair is uncombed and messy, she looks like a zombie.

"Good morning..." She ignores that and goes to the fridge.

"Milk..." She grabs the carton and chugs it.

"At least use a cup..." She finishes and looks at Shirou.

"Oh right, sorry, I'm no good in the morning, so you'll have to get used to it." Shirou sweat drops.

"Well... I guess it's alright." He hears the front door open.

"Good morning, Emiya-senpai."

"Good morning, Sakura! Do you want to help me with breakfast?"

She smiles. "That sounds good." She said, another voice suddenly makes herself known.

"Shirou~! You make breakfast yet~?" She asks loudly.

He sighs, already used to the ball of energy he calls a big sister. "Yes, yes, just wait a bit Fuji-nee, me and Sakura are preparing it now." She gives him a thumbs up and runs to the dining room.

"It's going to be one of those mornings, huh...?" He asked no one in particular. He begins to cook breakfast, already knowing this will be a hectic day.

* * *

Everyone is soon finished with breakfast. "Thanks for the meal!" Fuji-nee said.

"Thanks for the meal." Rin gets up and cleans the dishes. "Sakura don't you have club activities in the morning? I'm just freeloading so I'll clean up."

"Huh? But..."

"Don't worry Sakura, you helped enough already and Tohsaka didn't do anything to help."

"Alright..." She looks a little sad. She turns to leave, but a warm hand rests on her shoulder. She turns around and her cheeks burn, Shirou's smiling softly.

"Come back soon, and we'll cook together again, okay Sakura?" He gives her shoulder a squeeze, wishing he could give her a warm hug and... ahem, maybe _other _affectionate... things... he shook his head, jeez, where did those thoughts come from?

"Y-Y-Yes, o-o-okay, S-S-Sen-n-npai..." She stuttered softly, Shirou only seems to smile brighter, making Sakura's face light up even more.

Tiger looks at the clock. "Jeez, I should get going..." She notices that Shirou isn't wearing his school uniform. "Huh? Shirou shouldn't you be heading out too?"

"Ah... Don't worry about me, I'm going to stay home today." Saber, Rin, Sakura and Tiger pause to look at him.

Rin and Tiger close in on Shirou. "What?! Have you lost your mind! What do you think you're doing, Shirou?!"

Shirou starts to rub his shoulder. "My old injuries are acting up, so I'm just going to rest."

Tiger instantly calms down, a slightly sad look in her eyes. "Old injuries...? You mean from ten years ago?"

Shirou scratches his cheek. "Something like that... but I really do have some important things to do, so could you overlook it this time? Please, Fuji-nee?" She closes her eyes, a look of concentration on her face.

"Well... when you put it that way..." She sighs. "Hmm, alright, alright."

"Fujimura?" Sakura said.

"I'll just turn a blind eye to this for now, but you better explain yourself when I get back!"

Shirou smiles, giving her a thumbs up. "I'm in your debt!"

Rin sweat drops. _"Are you kidding me? Should a teacher really do this...?"_

Everyone besides Shirou and Saber are leaving but, before Fuji-nee leaves she turns back to Shirou. "You better not do anything to Saber-chan when I'm gone, Shirou... she's lucky I caught you before anything else could happen..." Shirou's face becomes darker than his hair.

"Goodbye, Fuji-nee!" He quickly slams the door. He turns around to an equally red-faced Saber. Shirou immediately bows. "I'm sorry for what I did, Saber!"

She remembers when their lips were touching, how soft and warm his lips were. "D-Do not worry about it... accidents happen..." Her face flushes even more.

"Well I think we should continue where we left off, eh Saber?" She nods and they get up to go to the dojo, they soon are in there familiar stances, Shirou is in the two sworded stance and Saber in her own.

Shirou grins. "Here I come, Saber!" He charges with his reinforced body.

She also grins. "Very well!" Their swords clash again and again.

* * *

The scene goes to Rin. "Sheesh, wanting to fight against Saber for a whole day? I should've warned him or something. Well, maybe this will be a good experience for him, after this he should finally learn that he has no hope to fight against a Servant alone..." She notices Issei walking and he notices her as well.

"Urgh! Tohsaka?!" He looks as if he gotten a heart attack.

"Good morning, Ryuudou-san."

"Why did I have to meet her so early in the day? Truly, an ill omen..."

"Aren't you being kind of rude?" She crosses her arms in the background.

"Hmm... by the way has anything changed recently at the Ryuudou Temple? Maybe, a new monk arriving, something like that?" He looks at her strangely.

"Huh? I'm not sure how I feel about you suddenly inquiring about my home." She dismisses his growing suspicion.

"It's nothing important."

He puts his hand on his chin. "Hmm, now that you mention it... you know Kuzuki-sensei is staying at the temple?"

"Kuzuki-sensei that teaches here? I heard since he's like a big brother to you, so you offered him a room."

He pushes up his glasses. "Indeed, he's also getting married pretty soon. Until then, his fiancée is staying with his at the temple too." Rin is surprised with this information.

"His fiancée? Could it be..." She feels Archer about to speak. _"Hmm... Looks like he was pretending to be normal. Then that would make the woman he's staying with Caster..."_

Issei notices someone behind Rin. "Ah! Kuzuki-sensei!" She tenses ever so slightly, she didn't even hear him! Let alone sense him!_  
_

He speaks with his usual monotone voice. "Ryuudou, I would like to talk about this years budget allocation. Could you come with me to the staff room?"

Issei smile. "Certainly, I'll head there now." Kuzuki nods his head slowly and walks away without making a noise. Issei turns back to her. "Okay, Tohsaka I'll be going now."

"Okay." He walks away, oblivious to the dangers around him.

She also begins to walk, while she's walking, she thinks about her gained knowledge. _"Could Kuzuki be her Master? If so then out next plan of action is simple, we defeat that teacher, then Caster will be dealt with." _She feels Archer talk again. _"Yeah... let's confirm his identity soon."_

"Hey, Tohsaka!"

"Oh, good morning, Ayako."

"I didn't know you were so close with the student council president." She teases. Rin nearly snorts.

"Don't make me laugh, we only met by chance."

* * *

After many hours Rin is on the roof.

"At any rate, all Seven Servants have made their appearance, excluding me and Emiya, that leaves five... out of those five, we don't know the Masters of Lancer and Assassin, we at least know Lancer's identity so he's nothing to worry about besides his Noble Phantasm."

"Assassin seems to be allied with Caster, what we need to worry about right now is the one absorbing mana." Archer said.

"Of course the most dangerous pair is Illyasviel and Berserker, to be honest I don't think we can stand up to him as we are now." Rin said.

"Then our next target is the one targeting the school, Rider. Apparently, the boy said he has no intention of using the barrier, but... the number of magic circles is increasing, he's gathering mana even faster than before."

Rin frowns. "Hmm... I don't believe Shinji for a second. Let's go Archer, we'll destroy a few magic circles to slow the barrier down. Geez, Emiya could have warned me sooner that he'd skip school today. I wonder how he's doing? Saber's probably filling him with holes by now."

Shirou blocks another superhuman strike from Saber, they both fight for dominance pushing against each others blades until they both jump back. Shirou sees Saber is sweating slightly after a near full day of fighting. Shirou is panting heavily, he feels multiple bruises and welts under his shirt. He waits for Saber to strike, she begins to talk, her voice mixed with approval and annoyance. Probably from Shirou being so persistent.

"You're much better than I though Shirou, but... you can never hope to match me!" She goes faster than before, it seems she is now getting a little serious, she's already upon him and smacks Shirou on the head, his vision flickers black.

"Ow!" He rubs his head furiously, trying to ease the pain. "Shirou, don't you think you should take a break soon?" She doesn't relax her stance, she has to be ready for anything, he's proven that before.

"Are you kidding? This is the most fun I've had in a while! I think it's time for me to get serious as well..." Now Shirou knows this might be a bit much, but he has to prove he can fight for her, to protect the ones he loves...

He closes his eyes and 'Loosens the Shroud' he is met with pain, pain much, _much_ worse than creating new circuits out of his nervous system. He boosts toward Saber with his two swords, pumping his arms with prana past their limit. His shinai's slam into hers, forcing her to step back a few times. She grits her teeth.

_"He's gotten stronger!" _She's forced to release more of her power to push him back, he also releases more to match her, their strength on the two shinai's causes them to break._  
_

Shirou is reaching his limit for the 'Shroud' so he tightens it and looks calmly at Saber. "Do you believe me now, Saber? That I'll be able to fight for you?... but it seems you still won't accept that so I'll repeat myself... we'll fight together, okay?" She doesn't speak for a moment, then she sighs.

"Fine, Shirou if you're going to be that stubborn then I'll follow this rule as well."

Shirou notices the broken remains of the shinai's they used, he though of a way to land a hit on Saber.

"Well I think it's time to stop, we've been fighting since this morning and it's noon so how about lunch? Here, I'll throw these away." He reaches for Saber's outstretched hand for her broken sword, but Shirou falls to one knee and hisses in pain.

"Shirou! Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, just need a little rest is all... just kidding!" He swings the two broken swords at her, she narrowly dodges the sneak attack, feeling the wind rush past her face. She gives him a mock glare.

"That was dirty Shirou, though you did nearly get me. You should be more subtle..." A loud growl is heard and Saber gains a slight blush on her calm face. "It seems that I'm hungry as well, shall we adjourn to eat?"

"Ha ha, yeah, I think it's time to take a break." Shirou and Saber are relaxing in the dojo eating some Onigiri, Shirou made beforehand.

"At any rate, you've been taking care of your body haven't you? It also seems like you had some sword training, did you have a good teacher?"

"Yeah, I couldn't really call him a teacher though, I learned how to use a sword for Kiritsugu."

"Kiritsugu...?" Her eyes light up a slightly, as if remembering something pleasant or... unpleasant. Oh, yeah... he almost forgot what Kotomine told him before...

"My old man, he's dead now. Kiritsugu was always overseas for something, so he wasn't home very often. But when he was, we'd spend most our time in the dojo. No matter how recklessly I charged, I could never land a single hit."

"Is that so..." Saber mumbles.

"Kiritsugu was an amazing person, he was strong, strong with a sword and magic. You could say I'm indebted to him. He was the superhero that I _wanted _to become. Even if our paths differ now, we still want to protect something we hold dear to. I'm trying to become as strong as I can, as fast as I can to become more like him. So that's why I can't be made to give up so easily."

"In that case, I'll stop going easy on you." Saber picks up a new Shinai and Shirou traces two, he can't have broken shinai's every time he uses them.

"All right, this time I'll land a hit for sure! No tricks, just until one of use makes a mistake." Shirou enters his two sworded stance.

"How interesting, let's see if you can turn the tables on me." Saber enters hers as well.

Tiger and Sakura enter the Emiya household. "We sure bought a lot today, do you think it's too much?" Sakura said.

"Nah, it's fine, Shirou should be starving by now."

"Still, I wonder why he didn't go to school?" Sakura asks worryingly.

"Hmm... maybe he was just sick." She then remembers what happened in the morning. "...Wait Sakura, follow me and try to be as quiet as possible." They reach the dojo and Taiga puts her ear to the door, she hears Saber speak.

"You have to go faster than that, Shirou!" She then hears him as well. "Don't worry about that! I'm just getting started!" She hears a series of grunts and shouts behind the door, her mind instantly went to the dirtiest thing she could think of and her face glows red.

She immediately opens the door. "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" What she saw was completely different.

"Fuji-nee?!" Shirou is distracted enough where Saber takes the opportunity to smack him in the face, causing him to tumble to the floor.

"Ah! Senpai!" Sakura runs over to Shirou, no one notices his swords fade away.

"That's not fair, Saber! Using that distraction to hit me!" Shirou takes Sakura's helping hand.

"Hmm... you should worry more about you losing than complaining, Shirou." He starts to brood slightly.

"What were you two doing anyway?" Taiga asks.

"We were just training a bit, Fuji-nee... why? What were you thinking we were doing?" He narrows his eyes, he begins to look at her suspiciously.

She thinks back to her inappropriate thoughts and her face flushes. "No-Nothing important!" She waves her hand frantically in front of her.

"...Well okay, I'm gonna go outside, you can join me if you want." He leaves and the cold air hits his face, he hears footsteps behind him and sees Saber.

"Shirou, shall we hold off on deciding the results of our duel?"

"Okay..."

"We'll keep practicing everyday from now on, and from the level you're already at you might be able to land a hit on me before you know it."

"Huh? Are you sure? I mean this is something that I wanted to continue, but is it okay with you?" Shirou asks.

"Yes, look at this from a strategic standpoint, it's an advantage for you to get stronger."

Shirou clenches his fist, he grins at her. "Just you wait Saber! Sooner or later, I'll make you admit defeat!"

"I'll stop going easy on you Shirou, so you better keep you're promise and not give up, okay?"

"Senpai! Saber-san! Dinners ready!"

"Ah! We'll be right there! Let's go and finish this later, Saber!"

"Yes, let's." They hurry inside, renewed vigor welling up inside them.

* * *

It's morning time and Shirou is rubbing his sore arms. "Jeez, when Saber said she'll stop going easy she meant it. Now I'm all sweaty... I guess I'll take a quick bath before making breakfast..." Shirou takes off his shirt and enters the bathroom.

"Eh?" Shirou hears the voice and turns to see a very naked Saber.

Sabers face blushes but she keeps her calm demeanor, he sees she is trying her best to keep her eyes from wandering to his bare chest. "You also want to wash yourself after training?"

"Ah... umm... ah..." Shirou can't speak.

"My apologies but this bathroom is currently in use. Would it be alright for you to wait afterwards, before using it?" She asks calmly.

"..." Blood begins to rush to his face, and... other areas...

"Shirou...?" She askes again.

Shirou sprints as fast as he can. "I'm sooorrrryyyy!" He screams out as his voice fades away, Saber only tilts her head in confusion.

While Shirou runs he didn't notice a body shuffle by and he slams into it, they fall and Shirou grabs onto whatever it is to protect it. He hears a loud 'eep' and they crash to the ground, Shirou groans and opens his eyes to a red-faced, Rin.

Luckily his hands aren't on her body but they managed to pin her arms and he notices he has no shirt on as well..._ "Why does this keep happening to me!"_

"N-Now Tohsaka I-I can explain..."

"Y-Y-Yo..." She started to shake.

"Tohsaka?" Something's telling him to run now!

"YOU PERVERT!" She immediately pushes him off and her magical energy spikes, she raises her sleeves and her arms start to glow.

"Wa-Wait, be reasonable, Tohsaka! It was an accident!" Shirou starts running, and explosions of magic destroy the hallway.

"DIE!" His pleas for help are unheard.

After the very hectic morning and many repairs to the Emiya house, everyone sits down and enjoys breakfast.

"Hmm? Why's your face red, Shirou?" He immediately tenses.

"N-N-No reason! Whoa!" He nearly drops the plates. She gives him a funny look, but continues her conversation.

"...Anyway, Sakura didn't come over at all, right?"

"Hmm... you're right. She didn't say anything last night either."

"Well, I'll see you later Shirou! I'll tell you if anything comes up!" She runs out the door. He hears footsteps behind him.

"Hey, Emiya." He turns to an angry red-faced Rin.

"...Tohsaka..." He tries to inch away.

"Stop moving idiot, I'm not going to attack you. Besides that, why are you wearing your school uniform? Aren't you training with Saber?"

Shirou waits a few moments, he just wanted to make sure. "...Ah, I'm going to school today, besides that we still have to deal with Rider's barrier, since I didn't go yesterday. We have to work together to make up for it today!"

"Hmm? You actually thought this through? I'm shocked." He gives her a rather annoyed look that makes her almost laugh. "That's the plan, so today Saber will be standing guard at the house."

"Is that your plan? Very well, please be safe, both of you." Shirou starts to panic, he couldn't help but remember before, her body...

"S-Saber?!"

"What's wrong, Shirou?

"It's nothing... it's just that I want to say I'm sorry for what happened earlier, I was careless so from now on I'll knock!" He puts his hands together and bows.

Saber frowns slightly. "I don't know what you're so flustered about Shirou, but there's no worry for you seeing my body, like I said before I'm a Servant before I'm a woman."

"Eh, But Saber...?" He tries to protest.

"Let's go Emiya-kun." She grabs his arm and drags him out.

* * *

"If you're wondering a Servants primary duty is to fight, are you trying to deny that when you treat her like a girl? You should be more careful. You have a tendency to see her as a girl only, you may not realize it but that's just going to upset her."

"R-Right..."

Rin sighs. "Anyway, what we should really worry about is, Rider. For starters, when Archer and I checked the school for the barriers progress, there are even more magic circles for activation than before. "

"...So he's trying to speed up the process?"

Rin nods. "Yes, Shinji's story seems to get more and more far-fetched every passing minute. That's why we need to keep interfering with the barrier, got it?"

"Got it..." He looks to the sky, he could almost see that smug face. "_I'm coming for you, Shinji... and when I do, you'll wish for something sweet like death..." _He shook his head, that's strange, where did those thoughts come from?

They soon reach the school.

"Tohsaka, I'm gonna stop by the Archery Club, _Shinji's_ probably there, and Sakura didn't come this morning so I'm a little worried."

"Yeah, I'll go on ahead." Shirou reached the Archery Range and sees Mitsuzuri get a direct bulls-eye with her shot.

"Looks like you're doing pretty good today, Mitsuzuri." She turns to see Shirou.

"Oh! Hey, Emiya! Did you decide to come back to the Archery Club?"

"No, sorry it's not about that, has Shinji..."

"Morning, Senpai." She seems to brighten up after seeing him.

"Good Morning, Sakura! Thank goodness, you were just at the club."

"Yes, I'm sorry for not coming to help this morning. It's just... Shinji is just getting more and more opposed to me coming to your house..."

"That's not very nice of him..." Mitsuzuri said.

"...Did he hit you...? Shirou asked.

"Ah, no Nii-san didn't do that..." Shirou could tell she's lying. It was hard to see but a well hidden bruise is on her neck.

"Okay, well I hope everything works out for you, Sakura."

"Thank you Emiya-senpai, I should be going now."

"See you later, Sakura!" He waits for her to leave, he turns back to Ayako, his cheerful smile, turns into a serious frown.

"So I wanted to talk to Shinji, do you know where he is?"

"Nope, sorry he's skipping like usual, he's been vice-captain for so long and he's still slacking... someone should really talk to him about this..."

"I see... well thanks anyway, Mitsuzuri. I'll see you later, maybe I'll do some archery next time." He begins to walk away.

"You better keep that promise, Emiya. See you later!" She waves to him, and he gives a back-handed wave to her.

"Now to find, Tohsaka..." He mumbles.

* * *

Rin and Shirou are wandering the school looking for magic circles, Shirou smells the familiar sweet scent. "Alright, I think it's about right here." He points to the ground.

"Huh, go figure. Okay, step back." She lifts her sleeve and points her hand to the ground, she chants a few words and a small magic circle appears, it glows for a second then disappears.

"You're on a roll today, Tohsaka."

"Yes, it's going a lot faster with you here. We're going a lot faster than I thought, if we keep this up we should be able to stop him until the end of the war and then Shinji's entire plan will end in futility."

"That would be good."

"All right, shall we go to the next one?" They leave the area, they don't notice a lone figure hiding in the corner.

"God damn you!" Shinji growls.

Shirou and Rin finish destroying as many magic circles as they could and go home. They sit around the table and discuss their next course of action.

Rin begins to speak. "So far, interference with the school barrier, is going fine. From Shinji's perspective it's getting worse and worse. So in the worst case scenario we should prepare for a direct confrontation."

Saber shakes her head. "I don't think Rider is an opponent we should be afraid of, under the right circumstances, it would be impossible for me to lose against her."

"I see... then that leaves only Shinji, but since he's not a proper magus he's not a problem to begin with..." She attempts to speak more but the phone rings.

"Shirou, the phone." Saber said.

"Yeah, I'll be right back." He answers the phone.

"Oh! Hey Fuji-nee what's up? Aren't you still at school?... uh huh... yeah... w-what?! Mitsuzuri was what?!" Saber and Rin hear the commotion.

"What's wrong, Emiya-kun? I heard you mention Mitsuzuri."

Shirou turns to face her. "She was found passed out in an alleyway on the way home from school, the police are saying it looks like she was attacked!" Rin has a troubled look on her face.

"Is... is she okay?" Rin asked with concern.

"Luckily, nothing happened to her... _physically_.They say her life isn't in danger, but she hasn't regained consciousness."

Rin begins to think. "I see... could it be Ayako was... Emiya-kun I'm going to go see her."

Shirou immediately follows. "Wait, Tohsaka! If you're going then I'll go to the hospital too!"

Rin nods. "Hurry up then, I doubt what happened to her was an accident..."

* * *

They reach the hospital and run to the woman at the desk.

"Excuse me! Could you tell me which room Ayako Mitsuzuri is in?" She looks through her files.

"Mitsuzuri? Ah yes, she's in room 207 however, visiting hours are already over for today." She said.

"What?!" He tries to protest but Rin grabs his shoulder.

"Let's go Emiya-kun." She continues to pull him.

"But, Tohsaka!-" She drags him away.

"Just follow me, Okay? We don't have time to do something as stupid as asking for permission, we'll just sneak in when no one is looking."

"Then Master, I'll stand guard outside." Saber said.

"Yeah, we'll meet up again when we're done." Shirou and Rin look at each room until they find their destination. "Alright, room 207..." She opens the door to an unconscious Mitsuzuri.

"Ayako!" She runs up to her and checks for any problems, her eyes widen in horror. "This is..."

"What is it, Tohsaka?"

"Her life force is being gradually drained. Look at that wound on her neck, her soul was sucked out along with her blood!" There are two puncture marks on her neck.

"Her soul?! So this was the work of a Servant?"

"Yeah, Ayako was the target of a "Soul Harvesting" a nasty thing to do."

"...This is all my fault, sorry Mitsuzuri... I'll find whoever did this and make them pay! I swear!" He grabs her hand and gives it a soft squeeze, her pained expression seems to soften slightly.

"...Emiya-kun, there's something I have to do, we'll meet up with Saber and go home later."

"Wait, Tohsaka! Where's she going in such a hurry...?" He looks down to Ayako, her calm breathing, is the only thing he can hear, he brushes a few strands of hair from her face.

"Just who did this to you...?" He's about to turn away until he hears a giggling voice.

"I know something you don't know~..."

"Who's there?!" He sees something behind the curtain.

"Maybe I'll tell you... _Onii-chan_." Her appearance is revealed. Her silver hair and red eyes.

"Illya?!" She jumps down from the ledge.

"I'm happy that you're still alive! After all, how'd you get better after almost getting split in half?" She gets close, unreasonably close. Shirou backpedals to the wall.

She tilts her head in confusion. "Is something wrong?"

"Ah, n-nothing's wrong..." She brightens up, she grabs his left arm and drags him.

"Then come on! I've got lots of stuff to... talk... about...?" She looks at his arm and her face shows great confusion, she doesn't move for a couple of seconds then shrugs "Well, let's go!"

"H-Hey! Illya!" While she's dragging him, he's thinking about what he just happened "_Why did she pause, the only reasons she would is... Don't tell me she figured out! No... she just ignored it... but she knew something was off... I'll have to be more careful..."_

"Come on! You're too slow!"

"Oh, sorry." He sees her humming a small tune and skipping across the floor, he smiles at what he sees, it reminds him of his Illya.

"Hey Shirou! What's this?" She points to a vending machine.

"Huh? You don't know what a vending machine is? You put money in it, and drinks come out."

"Hmm... I want one!" She points to one of the drinks.

"Uh, sure." He puts a couple of coins into the machine and her drink comes out. "Here you go."

"Waah! Thank you! Hey, let's go to the roof! The stars are so pretty tonight!" They walk up the stairs and meet a peaceful sky and night. She twirls around, amazed at what she sees.

"Uwaah! The starry sky is even prettier in my home town, but this still isn't bad. Don't you agree, Shirou?"

Shirou smiles, she really is like before. "Yeah... yeah, it is..."

Her smile seems to get brighter, but it soon turns into a more serious one. "So Shirou, you want to know what happened with that girl from the hospital room, right? Since you bought me this drink in exchange, I'll tell you." She walks up to him and grabs his face to bring him down. "Okay, close your eyes Shirou!"

"H-Hey!"

"Just relax. I'm going to show you my cognizance. I'll show you the form of the Master who attacked someone in the street." She connects their heads together and everything fades to a multi-visioned area.

_"What the heck is this?"_

_"You're now seeing through my eyes, when I was passing through the street..." _The vision goes to Rider and a lone woman she's feeding on._ "There can you see them? Look's like she just brought down her prey." _He hears another voice speak.

"How's your condition, Rider?" She finishes feeding.

"Good. Everything is going well." His appearance is revealed.

"Perfect... well then shall we call it a night?" His smug smile ever present.

Illya releases his head. "Well? Did you see it?"

_"Shinji..." _Shirou clenches his fists tightly.

"Aren't you happy you know who did it? So if Shinji dies, won't Shirou be in a better mood?" She asks innocently.

"..." She notices a presence coming.

"It's too bad, but it looks like someone came to interrupt our fun." She turns and begins to walk to the railing. "What a shame, there's still lots of stuff I want to talk about. Bye, bye for now, Shirou! Next time let's have a longer conversation, okay?" She turns to leave but Shirou quickly moves forward and grabs her arm gently.

"Wait!" Shirou yells, she flinches slightly from his voice and slowly stops her movement. She looks at Shirou with curiosity and suspicion, he can see it's mostly suspicion. He gets down onto one knee and looks straight into her eyes, she felt as if he's looking straight into her soul.

If she had one that is.

Shirou slowly raises his hand, making Illya tense in alarm. _"What's he doing? Is he planning to attack me? Trying to give me a false sense of security? Or-" _The next thing that happens made her thoughts go into a sudden halt.

_"Oh..."_

He plants his hand on top of her head and ruffles her hair slightly, being careful to not mess it up too much. "Just... be safe, alright Illya?" He smiled softly and closes his eyes. He would rather hug her, but he feels that would only make him lose a limb or two...

Illya's eyes widened in shock and a surprising well of guilt, she didn't want to see it. She really didn't... but, for a single moment, she was sure she saw her Kiritsugu, her _papa_...

She shakes her head slightly and looks back to Shirou, she felt a feeling that grew in her chest that she only felt when she was with mama and papa, yet this felt... different. She soon did something that she never thought she would do in a lifetime and rushed forward and hugged Shirou tightly, wrapping her arms around Shirou's strong chest.

"You don't have to worry, Onii-chan~! I'm a lot stronger than I look!" She said proudly. Shirou only laughed slightly and hesitantly wrapped his arms around her small form. His happy smile soon turns into a sad one, he's sad that he wouldn't be able to see her for a while, but at least they are on good terms... he felt a sharp pain suddenly invade his thoughts.

_"You said an older brother protects his little sister, right?... I'm the older sister so I have to protect my younger brother." _He frowned slightly, hugging Illya a little closer to his body.

Never again...

He soon feels small arms push away from him, he looks up and sees that Illya is giggling soflty and is sporting a large amount of red on her face, is she getting a cold?

"Bye, bye Onii-chan~! It was fun!" She twirls into the air and glides over the railing.

"H-Hey, wait Illya!" He runs over and looks. _"She's gone..."_

The roof door opens. "Ah, this is where you were, Shirou? You hadn't come back yet, so I was beginning to get worried. What is your reason for being on the roof?" Saber asked bluntly. Always straight to the point, huh?

"Ah, no reason, just... enjoying the stars is all, let's go home, Saber." They leave the roof in a comfortable silence.

* * *

"So tonight's incident wasn't Caster's doing? Then who could it be?"

"Yeah I wonder..." He looks ahead. _"I don't think I should tell them I met Illya..."_

"It was Shinji, he's the one who attacked Ayako, there's no doubt about it." They turn to see Rin standing at the front gate.

"What you were worried about is now happening, if you leave this alone the damage will continue to spread." They turn to see Archer as well on the opposite side.

"...We'll confront him tomorrow. Let's finish this now, before it gets any worse."

"What are you planning to do to, Shinji?" Archer immediately steps in front of Shirou, his increased height making him even more menacing.

"You still want to save his life, boy? A battle is determined with the death of the Master. That's the foundation of the Holy Grail War."

"I'm not-" He's interrupted.

"Seems like you still don't get it, so listen up. You're the reason that Mitsuzuri girl got involved, if you hadn't listened to that bastard then none of this would be happening." His glare seems to get colder.

"If you're so interested in justice, then the best course of action is to get rid of Shinji now. If you do anything else to get in my way, I'll cut you down myself!"

"That's enough, Archer. This incident is also my fault too, I should have attacked Shinji without saying anything." They turn away to go inside.

"...I know, Archer." Everyone turns to Shirou. "I wasn't asking to spare his life. I was asking if you were going to kill him or not, because if you don't then I will!" Archer's eyes widen slightly. "I can't allow someone like him to live, someone who endangers the lives of the people I care about, my loved ones. That is someone who doesn't deserve life!"

"..." Archer is surprised, he steel-gray eyes continue to stare at the brat._ "The boy truly doesn't follow that idiotic goal to save everyone... but why? What compelled him to change...?"_

"...Anyway, stop fighting you two. We're going to Shinji's house tomorrow, it's your choice if you want to follow." They slowly begin their walk home, Archer watches the boy for a bit and soon fades into the sky. _"Interesting..."_

* * *

It's morning time and Shirou is getting ready to go to school.

"So you're still going to school after all, Shirou?" Saber asked.

"Yeah, that way if something happened then I can do something about it."

"...Please be careful, the school could be considered an enemy encampment."

"Yeah, yeah I'll be careful... bye, Saber. I'll see you later." Shirou finishes and prepares to head out.

"I get the feeling that Rider's Master is in a hurry, if that's the case you should prepare for the worse, in the case of an emergency please don't hesitate to call me."

Shirou nods. "Yeah, got it. I'll be going now." He walks out the door. After a rather quiet walk to school, he reaches his class and sits down, he hears Fuji-nee begin to speak.

"Okay everyone sit down!" She begins to call out names, she reaches Shinji's name. "Huh? Is Matou absent? Does anyone know where he is?" She said.

Shirou sighs. _"Of course he's not here, considering what he was doing yesterday..."_

Meanwhile Shinji and Rider are on the roof and he's looking down at the other students.

Shinji shakes in anger. "Damn fools! Mocking me... they should all be bowing down to me!" He looks back at his Servant. "Rider! Activate the barrier, now!"

She nods, almost reluctantly. "Very well... let us begin." She slams her hand to the ground causing a large magical seal to appear, the sky starts to bleed to red. She raises her arms again and points them to the sky. **"Human Seal..." **She slams them down. **"Blood Fort Andromeda!" **A large eye opens in the sky with large red tendrils spreading across the area.

The heavy pressure hits Shirou again. _"This feeling...!" _He turns around. "Everyone!" He saw everyone is unconscious and that they are at the beginning stage of turning into mana, they would soon start to melt as well...

"..." He turns around and runs to the strongest scent in the air, it leads to the roof. While he's running he releases half of the 'Shrouds' power. _"I'm coming for you, Shinji!"_

Shinji is smiling at what he did. "Heh, heh, heh! Look at them, Rider! The're dropping like flies! Ha, ha, ha!" His laughter filled with insanity. Suddenly the door gets horribly mangled and shot straight of its hinges, a raised foot is seen.

"Shinji!" He traces his swords.

"If you stop this now, I MIGHT give you a chance to live!" No he wasn't. "Decide now!" Shinji starts to sweat slightly, but his expression goes neutral.

"Oh, it's just you Emiya, I thought someone came up here to stop me." His insane grin returns. "But this is perfect timing, as it turns out I've got some business with you too! I can't just leave you to die from the barrier! Don't worry, I'll make sure you suffer before you die! Kill him, Rider!" He extend his hand to aim at Shirou.

She hesitates slightly before she charges.

"Sir!" Shirou prepares for her insane speed and strength. He blocks her dagger and dodges her kick as well, they both start to speed up. Their movements are only blurs to the human eye, Rider attempts to cut him but all she meets is steel-like resistance.

"Stop playing around and kill him, Rider!"

She blocks another strike which makes her slide back. _"But..."_ She dodges those twin blades, they cut through the concrete walls and floor like paper. _"...I am going serious... where has this power come from...?"_

While Shirou is blocking, striking and parrying, manages to make her slide back. He turns a lone eye to Shinji. "You're next, Shinji!" He turns his full attention back to Rider and starts to attack with full reinforcement.

"R-Rider! End this now!" Shinji reverts back to his pathetic self.

"Understood!" She goes into a hand stand and spins her legs too fast for Shirou to evade, her momentum channeled into one strong kick. He does the only thing he can do, he blocks. But from the force of the kick, he's sent flying, breaking the safety fence and sent flying straight to the ground.

_"Damn it! I wasn't fast enough!" _He sees he's getting closer and closer to the ground _"I've only got one chance...!" _He pumps his legs with prana and reinforces them to near breaking point, he positions his legs to take the fall. He slams into the ground causing it to crack and crater slightly from the force.

Shirou smiles then winces when he tries to move his legs. "It seems it wasn't as perfect as I thought..." He hobbles out and slowly makes his way back to Rider and Shinji. "Damn, I need help..." He looks at his command seals, he shakes his head.

"No, that would be a waste." He remembers that Rin said Servants and Masters are supposed to have a link to communicate, but his is fractured and the only proof of their bond is the symbol on his hand, a connection is still a connection. He closes his eyes and attempts to visualize their bond, he tries to grasp it as hard as he can. _"Saber, I need your help." _He really hopes this works.

Rider hesitantly looks down and sees the familiar red-hair enter the school, she smiles slightly. _"He's alive..." _She doesn't know why but she feels... really relieved he's okay.

"Is... is that it?" His smug grin comes back. "Heh! Fools, that's what happens when you stand in my way!" Rider immediately notices multiple projectiles headed for Shinji and defends him, swatting away the magic bullets.

"What?!" Shinji turns to see Rin and Archer.

"It's the end of the line, Shinji! You're out of chances, are you ready to die?! Archer!" Rin yells, he drops his bow and traces his twin swords and charges at Rider.

"Tch...! Rider!" She also charges, while they clash Rider notices something. _"Their similar..."_ She notices his movements are the same, if not much more refined than Shirou's. _"Interesting..."_

Rin points her hand at Shinji. "It's over, Rider can't protect you, surrender now."

He smirks. "Heh, you think I can't take care of myself without that tool?" He slowly pulls out a book.

"Behold! The true power of the Matou heir!" Suddenly three black waves of magic glide against the ground.

"What?! A magic attack!" She immediately makes a magical shield to block the attack.

"Tch! That must be...!" Shinji is shown holding a simple book that glowed with unusual power. "The Book of False Servants!"

"So you even know the Matou family's secret tomes... I'd expect no less from a Tohsaka. That's right, using this book I can temporarily command countless slaves, even a Servant can come under my command! This is my substitute for a command seal." Magical energy shoots out around him. "With this book, I can even use Rider's mana as my own! That way... I can even fight on your level in a magic battle!" He send's another blast of magic.

Shirou is still slowly making his way back, he nearly there to the roof until he hears a voice he's been hoping to hear. "Shirou!" He turns to see a fully armored Saber.

"Ah! Saber I didn't think that would work..."

She nods. "I was very surprised to hear your voice Shirou, but I didn't question it, and I came here as fast as I could." She notices he's limping, and he has a couple of cuts on his body. "Are you injured, Shirou?"

"Ah, don't worry about it, we still need to stop the barrier, so we need to hurry!" He once again releases the 'Shroud' and speed ahead, Saber is surprised to see him move that fast but doesn't comment, each step gets them closer and closer to the roof. He sees the light of the opening.

"Shinji!"

Rin and Shinji turn to see Shirou and Saber as well. "How are you still alive after that fall, Emiya?!"

"Emiya-kun?!"

"I already gave you my one and _only_ chance and you blew it. Now it's time for you to leave this earth..." Shirou traces Gáe Bolg, and copy's the familiar stance of Lancer.

"H-Hey, Emiya just wait a moment!"

**"GÁE...!"** He readies the spear, it begins to glow crimson red, unparalleled blood-lust begins to permeate the air. He didn't notice it, but a blood thirsty grin began to spread across his face. Even Saber shivered from seeing such and unusual expression on his face.

"Help me, Rider!" He tries to run.

**"BOLG!"** He throws the crimson spear, it jagged tip speeds toward Shinji, aiming for his twisted heart. Just as it was about to hit, Rider appears and attempts to deflects it but it twists around her, still trying to go for Shinji.

She growls in annoyance, she brings her arm back. Due to it being an imperfect copy, Rider is able to destroy it with a fully powered slash of her dagger, but that took quite a bit of energy. Shirou notices a deep gash on her leg, it probably came from Archer. She grabs Shinji and drags him to the other side of the roof.

"Rider?!" Saber said.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Shinji yells.

"This is over Shinji. We can't defeat them as we as now. Let's abandon this place."

"Are you trying to run away?!" Rin said.

"...I suppose if you intend to stop me, then I have no choice." She takes of her blind-fold.

Rin's surprised. _"She took it off...?"_

"I'll have to show you... these cursed eyes of mine!" Her mystic eyes are revealed, Shirou looks away too late.

"No, Shirou! You mustn't look into her eyes!" Shirou feels like his limbs are lead. He struggles, but he's felt worse, compared to his body quite literally becoming a living sword, this was nothing. He begins to move his constricted muscles, albeit slowly. He traces his twin swords and prepares for the worst.

"Rin!" Archer shields her and she covers her eyes.

"I know! Those are the cursed eyes of petrification! Anything in its field of vision is paralyzed, it fatal to resist!"

"If possible, I would have preferred to not use these. But since I can't defeat you with strength, I am forced to release these cursed eyes." If only she wasn't with this idiot for a Master, her eyes of petrification would turn them slowly to stone, but with the minimal mana she had, all she could do was constrict their movements. She notices Shirou. _"He's able to move...?" _Shirou slowly raise his arms, ready for anything.

"I see... but, do you think it's strong enough to stop me?" Archer slowly raises his arms with a bit of difficulty, and he traces his bow and aims a sword-arrow at her.

"I am aware it has a very small effect on other Servants but if it can slow you down to buy me a few seconds then it will work." She does something almost all are surprised to see, she stabs her own neck causing a large amount of blood to spray out.

"Wha..." Archer said.

"Did... did she use her own blood to create the magic circle?!" A large magical circle soon forms in front of Rider, and an eye slowly opens until a bright light shines, blinding everyone. Rider takes the opportunity to grab Shinji and shoot off, annihilating anything and everything in its path.

"Shirou, look out!" Saber grabs him and tackles him to the ground, Archer does the same with Rin. The ground has a large area completely destroyed from the Rider's power.

"Hmph, that's some ridiculous power." Archer said, he looks to Shirou._ "He was serious... he really was going to kill that Matou boy..."_

"Tch, they got away." Rin said with annoyance.

"Tohsaka, we should split up and search the city, he couldn't have gone far!"

She nods. "Yeah, Archer let's go!" They soon disappear, Saber and Shirou also go.

"Shirou, do you know where they are?"

"No, but I have a guess, since we destroyed the barrier at the school, he has to be desperate. I don't think he'll go very far from the school. With all that power he gained, he has to be planning to do a counter-attack. He has to be in a place where many people gather!" Shirou and Saber search the city until night, they finally reach the tallest building in Fuyuki City.

"Shirou I sense a hostile presence nearby, please be on guard. Shirou, if she release that magic again, even I could not survive. If I use my Noble Phantasm, it could easily defeat her, but in such a heavily populated area..."

"No, sorry Saber but it would cause meaningless deaths to achieve our goal. I'll leave Rider to you, Saber."

"Understood." From a distance Rider is watching.

"Saber and her Master are approaching, I will intercept them!" Shinji nods silently, she jumps down and begins to fall like a comet, her path straight to Shirou and Saber.

"Shirou, watch out!" He jumps back and a large object smashed into the ground.

"Rider!" She charges her and their weapons clash. They move at speed no man can follow, Rider and Saber soon jumps to the building to battle.

Shirou reinforces his eyes and looks up to see Shinji staring down at him as well, he goes inside and runs up the stairs, he opens the roof door and sees Shinji.

"So you're finally here, Emiya." He opens his book. Black tendrils of magic swirl around him.

"Shinji... when I used Gáe Bolg, it was a mistake... I'll only use my fists to make you suffer. I'll make you suffer for all the lives you've endangered." He slowly begins to walk. _"Especially Sakura's...!_" He thought bitterly.

Shirou moves his arms and legs into a familiar stance. He adopt the style which nearly destroyed his body, the style which was used by a dying man, the style he watched with his fractured mind.

**Super Bajiquan**, It's an ultimate technique born from the miraculous fusion of Bajiquan and magic craft, having become an Internal Art that transcends the External Art. It is a style that takes the shortest route without any initial movement to damage the inside instead of the outside. A custom fighting stlye created by Kotomine Kirei. But, it's actually perfect for himself as well.

"What do you think you are? Some sort of martial artist?!" He sends multiple lashes of magical energy at Shirou.

He doesn't move, he waits for the perfect moment and uses the "moving stance" with a single hard step he shortens the distance, easily speeding past the black tendrils of magic. Without warning he's already in-front of Shinji, his eyes slowly widen, his brain can't register what's happening right now.

"What!" That's all he can say before he's punched straight in the chest, he's sent tumbling to the ground. His first sounds are his screams of pain, he tries to crawl away.

"Oh stop crying, only a couple of your ribs broke, if it was perfect you'd be _dead_." He slowly walks toward, Shinji.

"Wh-What are you!" He backpedals to the roof door, he send's another wave of magic, Shirou just raises his arm, he waits and swiftly moves his arm, the magic disappears with a single swipe.

"...Sometimes I wonder that myself..." He mussed. He immediately starts to walk again, Shinji sends wave after wave at Shirou, he just ignores the pitiful magic and keeps walking. Shirou suddenly boosts and grabs his outstretched arm.

**_"Six grand opening elbow thrust!"_ **Shirou lifts his arm from below and then slams his left elbow into his chest, he then immediately flips and slams him to the ground.

"Hmm... it seems I broke 3 more ribs, and your sternum cracked." Shinji can no longer scream, he's all out of breath to scream with. Just as Shirou was about to deal the finishing blow, Rider appear._ "Where's Saber...?" _He's immediately frozen in place, and she kicks him away.

"I won't let you take another step toward, Shinji!" She helps him up. "Are you alright?"

"R-Rider?" His voice full of pain, she looks at him from the corner of her eye. "I'm going to finish this now, please stay back."

"Ri-Right." She puts him down so he can rest.

"Rider don't make me do this, stop now and we can figure everything out, I don't want to kill you..." He forces more prana to his body, making his body feel less constricted.

She releases even more power for her cursed eyes, preventing him from moving again. "I can't, I must follow his orders until he dies or I die. If you keep pumping your body with prana you'll destroy your magical circuits."

"...Heh, it doesn't matter, most of these aren't mine anyway." She's curious and confused by this answer. But before she can do anything, a silver and blue blur appears and stands guard in front of Shirou.

"Saber!"

"Hmph, It seems I've run out of time." Rider jumps back and stabs her neck, causing the bloody magical circle to appear, the white comet shoots out and flies toward Shirou and Saber.

"Shirou, watch out!" She grabs him and jumps away. When they look to the sky, they see a beautiful winged horse.

"Allow me to introduce my friend here, her name is Pegasus, a mythical beast from the age of the gods, who commands the heavens!" She charges at Shirou, Saber immediately uses her sword to deflect the blinding comet, one comes too fast and she's forced to block, she's slowly pushed back by the blinding comet, she manages to off set her, but Rider immediately comes back and with each hit Saber's forced back causing more and more damage to appear on her form.

"Saber, you're pushing yourself too hard!"

"I-I'm fine, I just need to find the right moment to counter!" She readies her sword again.

"I think it's time to end this." Rein's appear on the Pegasus and her magical power raises even more.

**"BELLEROPHON!" **She waits in the air, ready to erase them off the face of the earth.

_"The only way for, Saber to defeat that is..." _He turns around and sees her raise her sword, the wind picks up and her golden sword is revealed.

"I'll use every ounce of my power... to defeat Rider!" Rider sees this attempt and speeds toward them. Saber's mind flashes toward the dream she had, she grimaces slighty.

"Rider! I'll answer your Noble Phantasm with my own! I'll open a path straight through your charge with a single strike!"

"Saber, stop! We'll figure out another way!" She turns her head to look at him. "I'm sorry, Shirou... this is the only way to beat her!" He knows if they clash, Rider will lose and she'll die, he would lose someone precious to him. He couldn't let that happen.

Shirou once again releases the 'Shroud' and focuses on one move that was able to block it. He raises his left arm and point it in the center of the air waiting for the right moment.

**"EX..." **She raises her sword, golden light flows out.

**"...CALIBUR!" **She brings it down, a wave of holy light speeds toward Rider, and as soon as she was about to be consumed by the energy, a voice is heard.

**"RHO AIAS!" **The seven pedals appear in the sky, not used to help Rider's or Saber's Noble Phantasms, just used to block. Getting hit by two fully powered Noble Phantasm's is not a good feeling at all.

Not. At. All.

Instantly 5 pedals are destroyed, he felt his spine crack apart, his stomach rupture, his bones break, one of his eyes went blind. He's pretty sure his heart stopped, the 6th pedal breaks.

***CRACK* **

"..." What was that? He doesn't remember, he can't remember. Another memory disappears... was that what happened? The 7th pedal breaks and Rider is consumed by the holy light, as it clears she is gone. Shirou falls to the ground, unmoving.

* * *

Rin and Archer are making their way to the last building until they see the two Noble Phantasms about to clash.

"Those are..." Rin said.

Just as they were about to clash the 7 layered shield appears and blocks each hit. Archer nearly trips. _"Rho Aias?! That's not possible!"_

"Looks like they finished without us... let's go."

* * *

Shirou is suddenly jolted awake, the blood leaking from the cut on his head leaked into his mouth, making him cough it up. Saber is quiet, too shocked to speak. They hear Shinji fall to his knees.

"R-Rider w-was defeated... w-without a trace..." The book slowly burns away, what he didn't notice is a small bit not burn away. He looks to Shirou. "Stay away!" He attempts to drag his pain ridden body to the roof door.

"..." Shirou slowly and painfully walks to him until Shinji is cornered against the wall, Shirou grabs him by his throat and lifts him to the air.

"Shinji..." He spat his name out.

"You have endangered too many lives, so I cannot, no... _will not_ allow you to live. Your twisted heart will never change and you will only abuse any power you achieve, for this you must die, so no lives will ever be in danger again, especially Sakura's..." Shirou closes his eyes and concentrates, this one will be incredibly difficult.

His entire right arm began to glow.

Suddenly the air became cloaked in a feeling of death, something vile was being formed. Soon enough a black cloth soon began to slowly materialize over his right arm, it smelled of blood and sand.

The cloth loosens and falls, as if it had a mind of it's own, showing the glowing, cursed arm. Shinji became even paler, he felt like he was staring at the grim reaper himself, but that isn't what scared him, it's his _eyes. _They are blank, lifeless, like a dead body. They looked exactly like the priest's eyes when he was visited by him.

Shirou grit his teeth, he felt a curse begin to spread across his body. _"Damn it! Focus!" _He closed his eyes and began to breathe slowly, an ether copy of Shinji's heart soon appeared in his hand. He reopened his eyes, giving Shinji one last glare._  
_

**"Zabaniya..."**

"W-Wait, Emiya!" Fear and pain in his eyes.

**"Delusional Heartbeat."** He crushes Shinji's blackened heart, he could hear it collapse and explode in his chest.

Shinji screams until he can't scream anymore, his mouth spews blood and the light leaves his eyes, Shirou drops his lifeless body with a heavy thud.

**Kill...**

A white skull mask blinked into his vision, becoming more and more visible by the second.

**Kill more...**

**MORE!**

His hand twitched, he suddenly wanted to stab Shinji's body with the cruelest weapons in his arsenal, twist his head until it popped off his neck, one hard snap at a time. See how far he could pull his arms and listen for them to pop out of their sockets, then pull some more until they ripped off his body. Cut his chest open and rip out his orga-

He shook his head from the alien thoughts and quickly wrapped up the arm and made it disappear into the air. _"Never! Ever! Doing that again..."_

"Sh-Shirou..." She falls and her breathing becomes heavy, she begins to sweat profusely and she slowly falls unconscious.

"Saber! Hang on!" Shirou picks her up and runs down the stairs to home.

Meanwhile Rider appears before her True Master.

"Are you okay, Rider?" She asks worryingly, her appearance is rather bad. A part of her face is burned off, she has multiple gashed on her body and her right arm is a bloody mess.

"Yes, I just need to rest for a bit, in time my wounds will heal. If Shirou didn't use that strange shield I would have died."

"...and Shinji?"

"He... he killed him..."

"...Let's go home, Rider."

"As you wish, Sakura."

**Author's Notes:**

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the very long wait but here you go! I want to clear a couple of things. One, I'm not 100% sure if Shirou even saw True Assassin use that Noble Phantasm or even if he can copy something like that, but I wanted to give that to Shirou and it seemed like an appropriate death for Shinji... Also I'm making Shirou's tracing ability able to see the history in the moves of Kotomine and copy them, he's not able to do it perfectly maybe up to 70% to 80%, possibly more with training. Anyway next chapter is the Illya Arc, Bye!**

**P.S Some of you say that Shirou's tracing ability only works on swords and other weaponry and stuff, which is true, but I want to make it go a step further. I want it to be able to trace fighting styles as well and for Shirou to utilize those to his advantage. **


	8. Chapter 8: Counter Guardian

"Normal Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

After meeting up with Rin (Archer disappeared somewhere) they quickly made their way home. Rin carefully put Saber in his bed, she chants a few words and her hand glows a bright green. She hovers over Saber's form.

"Shirou you should leave for now, you really can't do much here and I need silence for this... with you breathing down my neck isn't helping much." She said quietly.

Shirou nods slowly and gets up, he leaves the room, feeling even more helpless then ever. He waits silently in the dining room, every passing second filling him with more dread. He soon hears footsteps approach from behind.

"I've done all I could." She announces, she looks at Shirou, a pained expression is present on his face.

Shirou doesn't speak.

"She used almost all her mana, she won't last long. With that fractured connection, you can't support her with a sufficient supply." She said quietly, she didn't feel it would be good to yell at him, he's suffering enough as it is.

Shirou still doesn't speak.

He tightens his fists so hard that a small bit of blood leaks out. _"Damn it! I... I wasn't fast enough..." _Shirou grits his teeth, if only he reacted a little faster none of this would be happening... at least no one died, he looks at Saber's condition and only gets more and more frustrated by the minute, can't he do something?

"What exactly happened?" Rin asked. "I know you guys found Shinji, but Saber coming back like that... did you defeat Rider, or did you retreat?"

"Rider was defeated... and Saber is like that because of her Noble Phantasm."

"Hmm... what about, Shinji?"

"...I killed him..." Rin's eyes widen slightly, shocked that he actually took a life.

"...Ahem... besides that, can you explain to me what that strange thing in the sky was? It looked like it had... pedals or something, but whatever it was, it had a lot of magical power, almost as much as a Noble Phantasm... do you know what that was, Emiya-kun?" She puts her hands on her waist, waiting almost impatiently for an answer.

"I... I don't know, when their Noble Phantasms clashed, all I saw was blinding light, and then Saber collapsing, and... me killing Shinji..." Shirou hopes he sounds convincing, her eyes narrow, but thankfully she doesn't comment.

"...Well if you don't hurry, Saber's existence will soon fade if we don't figure something out. She's fighting for her life right now, trying her hardest to stay anchored in this world."

"Is there any way?" He asks hopefully.

"Since you can't supply her with prana, there are only a couple of methods... but one sticks out."

"What about the other ones?" He asked, he wanted every option available.

She instantly denies his request. "The others will take too long for you to learn, and one of them..." Her face reddens slightly.

"Anyway Shirou... the only way for her to stay alive is for you to use a command seal and make her consume souls."

"No way, Saber would never agree with that, and she would also resent me... forcing her to kill innocent people is not how she is." He said.

She frowns, she gets up and moves to the kitchen, but pauses. "I'll let you decide, Saber will get a little better in the morning but only just, you choose to let her disappear or consume a soul, you better do this quickly, she doesn't have long and who knows when the next Master will break down that door."

"Damn..." He looks at Saber, her breathing calmed slightly, but her skin is pale and she's sweating a lot. "I'll figure this out Saber, just hang on a little longer..." he grabs a towel and wipes some of the sweat that rolls down her face.

He gets up and wanders to the front door, going anywhere to clear his head. "I'm going out Tohsaka... I'll be back soon..." She appears at the door.

"Be careful..." She has this nagging feeling in the back of her head but she ignores it for now. She slowly goes back to Shirou's room and tends to Saber.

Shirou wanders, until he feet unconsciously lead him to the park. He spies a lone bench and he sits down, all his energy immediately leaves his body.

He can't do anything, all his accomplishments will soon disappear with Saber... what does he do? What can he do? He looks to his hand, the command seals glow a faint, flickering red.

_"__Is this really the only choice...?" _He punches the bench, easily hard enough for it to crack. He gives a heavy sigh and slowly makes his way to leave. As he was about to leave, a red figure blocks his path.

"What do you want, Archer?" He only glares silently. Shirou scoffs and attempts to move again.

"...Who are you...?" Shirou stops in his tracks and looks at him with confusion.

"What...?" Archer cold eyes become colder.

"I said, Who. Are. You? You cannot be Emiya Shirou, you have too much knowledge of many things, you are much faster and stronger than before." He takes a step forward, Shirou takes a step back.

"You are able to use projection to a very, _very_ high degree. I was just going to pass it off as you being a little better, but as soon as I saw Rho Aias... something like that is impossible for you to see." He traces his twin swords and points one at him. "I will say this one more time, WHO. ARE. YOU?!"

Shirou curses slightly, he knew using that move would be a very large risk, he couldn't get out of this, he had to tell the truth for once.

He sighs heavily. "Heh ...I guess I have no choice, huh?" Shirou looks to Archer, his eyes finally showing the complete and utter tiredness they hold.

"...But before I begin, you have to promise me you won't tell Rin. _Anything._" He puts his sword down and slowly nods.

Just as he's about to speak, Archer stops him. "Wait a moment Emiya Shirou." He goes into his pocket and brings out a small green gem. He silently channels a bit of mana into the gem and drops it to the ground.

The gem immediately shatters and a small, almost invisible barrier surrounds them.

"What did you-" Archer interrups him. "Do not worry, it's just a precaution so no one can hear us, it's a gem that Rin... misplaced before. If you would continue now Emiya, this won't last very long." Shirou takes a deep breath and begins.

"...Okay, I guess the first thing I should tell you is, I _am_ Emiya Shirou but this, all of this is very different from my war." Archer tries to speak.

"Stop, I'll answer all your questions after I finish." Shirou then begins his tale and tells him about the horrors of his war, of how the shadow nearly consumed and killed all the Servants, how Sakura was soon consumed and became the shadow and nearly killed everyone and everything, he explains about True Assassin, Blackened Berserker and Saber-Alter.

How he gave up his ideals for Sakura, and explained his abilities. He also had to tell how he lost his arm to the shadow trying to protect Illya, how the Archer of his war gave his arm to him, and why it looked like his normal arm. His near death battle with Kotomine Kirei, and most importantly telling Archer he knows who he really is.

"...The last thing I remember, was preparing to destroy the Holy Grail, but Illya tried to sacrifice herself so I would live. I guess at the last possible second, I made a wish and ended up here..." He finished, actually feeling a good amount of weight lifting off his shoulders.

Archer is silent, he doesn't say a word, an unreadable expression is present on his face. He moves out of the way.

"If you want anymore answers just asks me, I guess..." He passes him and starts walking, suddenly his instincts are screaming at him to move but it's too late. He's quickly slashed, a bloody x rips across his back.

"Gah! What the hell, Archer!" He jumps out of the way and traces his own swords. The pain nearly made him lose consciousness, Archer is ready, his swords dripping with Shirou's blood.

"Just because the other fool stopped trying to kill you doesn't mean _I_ will! I must stop you from ever becoming a hero, no matter the cost!" He attacks at speeds where Shirou can barely see. They shatter through the small barrier that Archer placed and with each strike Shirou's forced back deeper and deeper into the parks forest.

"I told you, I know I can't save everyone! That's why I abandoned that ideal! I only want to save my loved ones, even if I have to kill lives to do so!" Shirou raises his twin swords and meets Archers hits blow-for-blow.

"That is meaningless! Do you think I'll believe you just like that?! I'll just let this go?! I cannot allow this cycle to continue!" He slams into Shirou's swords causing them to shatter and for him to fall to the ground.

"That's why I... no you, should never become a **Heroic Spirit**! Even if you differ from my path, there is still that chance, that very slim chance that this will happen again..." He closes his eyes.

**"I am the bone of my sword..." **A ring of fire circles around him and spreads out, consuming Shirou with it.

"This is..." Shirou knows what this is, it's the very soul of Archer, every sword is a sword he has used to slay innocent people to save others, the world is dark and empty, cogwheels are in the air spinning endlessly. An empty plain, which only swords are filled.

Where no one can help...

Where he's always alone in this twisted dream...

"That is why you must die, Emiya Shirou." He raises his hand, numerous swords lift into the sky.

"Don't screw with me!" Shirou retraces his swords and prepares for the unlimited blades.

"Foolish boy..." He brings his hand down, every Noble Phantasm he's seen and used is brought down.

"Do you think..." Shirou deflects and strikes every blade he possibly can, some manage to cut his arms and legs, one gets dangerously close to his face, it grazes his cheek.

"...I'll just lie down and die?!" He releases the 'Shroud' and destroys the swords at a faster rate until they slowly die down. Shirou's breathing heavily. His arms are on fire, he feels his circuits burning.

Archer is about to raise his arm again, his signature smirk on his face.

"Why do you regret this?" Archer stops for a moment. He doesn't respond, that empty silence is an answer enough.

"Why?! You became a Heroic Spirit! You achieved the dream of Emiya Shirou, you became a hero!" Archer laughs, a resentful, bitter laugh.

"A hero? No... I became a **Counter Guardian **one of Alaya beasts. We were used when the extinction of mankind is detected, we appear to stop the person or thing responsible. Whenever a great disaster is upon mankind, we eliminate the source of the disaster. I was forced to kill anyone who was involved, it didn't matter if the person was guilty or innocent, good or evil... I just killed until the threat was gone."

"But you saved lives!" Shirou yells, his vision flashes to Kiritsugu's smiling face.

"Yes... I suppose I did, I saved many, I probably saved the world a couple of times too... but all that was rewarded to me was despair and regret, and after that was betrayal and death..." His smirk disappears, his face was finally showing the true age that followed him to his death.

"I was never a Hero, I only lived long enough to become the villain. I killed and killed and killed and kept killing, It didn't matter who was innocent or not, I killed thousands to save millions then killed those millions to save billions... it became an endless cycle, no matter how many I saved someone still died. I realized that no matter how many lives I saved, people would still die, and die, and die... I tried to live an impossible fantasy, I was forced to betray my own ideals to protect them." He looked up to the rusted cogwheels, watching as they spun endlessly.

"I learned you can't save everyone, and do you want to know my reward? One of the people I saved accused me of starting the entire conflict! I was executed and betrayed by my allies, but even then I didn't hate mankind. I just wanted to make everyone happy, I wanted to fulfill my dream, it was always at an arms reach, but it kept getting farther and farther away, until... it disappeared... it was only after I saw humans self-destruction and was forced to oppose my own ideals countless times... I gave up on them." His steel-grey eyes harden on Shirou.

"That is why, you must die. So if I can stop any of this from happening, even if it's only a slim chance, I'll take it!" He retraces his swords.

"...You're wrong... because I will not fall into despair, I won't fall into a constant cycle of regret! This is why I'll never acknowledge you! I'll crush those twisted ideals with my own hands!" His circuits light up, he traces his swords again and charges toward the red knight.

"You are a fool! How are you so sure? How do you know that you won't have to sacrifice your loved ones to save lives! Even with our differences there is the chance that you will end up in my position, saying the same things!" Archer also charges, he uses his superior skill to block Shirou's blades and strike at twisted angles.

"I don't care! I will never sacrifice my loved ones!" His mind flashes to the purple-haired girl. "Even with that small chance that my life goes the same as yours, they will never die by my hand!" He deflects his hits, only through his reinforced strength and speed he's able to do so, albeit barely.

They clash, their hits creating sparks, small shock-waves. They follow each others strikes, blocking, slashing, parrying... an endless struggle, with only one victor.

_"...Why does he continue to struggle, even with his body and mind in such a condition... he continues to meet my strikes blow-for-blow..." _Archer ignores these troubling thoughts and pushes forward.

"You are a broken, distorted human! A hopeless boy who shouldn't even be alive!" He swings his swords with abnormal strength, he once again shatters, Shirou's blades.

"That _man_ should have never saved you..." He sees the boys glare turn cold.

"Kiritsugu was the closest thing to a father I ever had! When he saved me I chose to follow his path as a hero, until that day came... to decide if I would abandon them and fight for the ones I love or become the exact same as him... "

He traces a nameless long-sword and once again they clash. Swords soon start to dig their way out of Shirou, his mind is starting to fall apart, everything is becoming steel again. He feels his body breaking down. Their swords slam into each other, shattering to pieces.

"I was driven by the singular belief to live solely for others! I just kept believing and running forward, but I now understand that it's impossible!" They both trace their twin swords, clashing again.

"You are still that naïve boy who will deep down still be the same! That day will come... when you're in the same position as me, in order to save the lives of your loved ones, or to save just a few more people... you decide to sign that damn contract..." Archer surges forward and kicks him, folding Shirou over his leg and sending him to the ground.

Shirou hastily gets up but drops to one knee, blood dripping from his wounds. His circuits heat up, charging his body with more unwanted power.

"My... my body is made of swords!" He forces his body to move, ignoring the 'Shroud' he once again raises his swords, his joints screech with each stiff movement.

"You're still..." He said, astonished at what he's witnessing.

"I won't lose to you... I don't mind losing to anyone else, but... I can't lose to _myself_!" He crouches slightly, readying himself and boosts off the ground.

"You..." Their swords cross paths, each hit causing the air to explode, exactly like a crack of thunder.

"It's impossible to keep them safe forever, yet you still foolishly struggle?!" Shirou blocks a powerful strike, he feels his fingers break, his muscles rip apart.

"I'm not wrong!" Shirou strikes with all his strength, so hard that his arms easily snapped in two.

Archer's blades shatter, he grunts in surprise, he immediately traces his swords again and the battle resumes, one trying to overpower the other.

Archer notices Unlimited Blade Works is warping, the cogwheels are disappearing, and the sky is clearing. _"What... what in the world...?" _He quickly looks back the the red-haired boy.

"That's the exact mistake I made! I was forced to sacrifice them... to save the lives of many... one of their lives doesn't equal to a million innocent lives!" He redirects his strikes, causing Shirou to leap back.

"There's no way it's a mistake! I will sacrifice the lives of millions to save the ones I love! Even if the time comes where it's impossible to save them, I'll keep going no matter how many die!" His next answer makes Archer nearly falter his movement.

"I _will_ sacrifice myself to save them! Even if they may mourn, even if they may suffer, or even resent me... I _will_ do what must be done!" No hesitation is in his voice.

He rushes forward swinging his swords faster and faster, his muscles ache, his lungs burn, desperately wanting oxygen. Yet he keeps going, relentlessly attacking, losing all his acquired skills to just attack.

Archer skillfully blocks another slash from Shirou's clumsy swing. He felt no more power from that attack, if he were to act now he could kill the boy without him even knowing, he could have done it many times before this fight even started... yet he feels as if he would _lose_ if he achieved his goal...

_"That look in his eye... why... why does he continue to look at me with those familiar eyes!" _He felt with each time the swords struck, a flicker of a distant memory would return to his mind.

Archer's Kanshou slammed into Shirou's Baykuya. His vision flickers into specks of white.

_Moonlit sky._

Shirou slams his twin blades into Archer's.

_Smiling face._

Their blades lock against each other, they gaze hatefully at one another. Archer feels his head throb from the recurring visions.

Archer kicks Shirou back and rushes forward, his white blade ready to finally end the half-dead boy. Just as he was about to end it all... he heard a voice he's all too familiar with...

_"Heh, heh, heh..." _The voice chucked softly._ "Well... as for me Shirou, I always wanted to protect as many people as possible, I always wanted to become a..." _Archer finished his sentence without even knowing he moved his lips.

"Hero..."

Archer lingers on these thoughts too long and Shirou rushes forward, sending the last of his power to do a overhead slash with his swords. He manages to force Archer to stumble back.

Shirou starts to yell. He runs, slowly picking up momentum. He throws Kanshou, and positions Bakuya and starts to get closer and closer to Archer.

His eyes widen, as the blade is about to pierce his body... he smirks, his eyes close tiredly and he awaits his end... yet there's no pain, why?

He opens his eyes to see the boy holding Bakuya against his chest, he's right next to him, not moving.

"It's my win, Archer." He said calmly.

He gives a small smile. "Yeah, and it's my loss..." Shirou looks directly at him, his eyes burning with a fire Archer has not seen in a long time.

"Whatever awaits me in the future, I won't regret it! I'll overcome it, I will never sacrifice my loved ones! I'll keep going no matter how much it hurts, I will never turn into you! Saving everyone is an impossible fantasy, and I know if I had followed your path the chances of turning into you is even greater. That's why... my loved ones are always first." Shirou said, he slowly brings his sword down, it drops uselessly to the ground and disappears into dust.

"Heh, indeed... it'd be a lie if you didn't." The Reality Marble slowly warps into the cold night sky. Archer's swords disappear from existence. He turns away and walks, disappearing into the night.

Shirou can barely move, he feels his broken and bloody body begin to strangely heal again, he uses the rest of his dwindling strength to stumble back to the bench. He clumsily sits down and rests there, he feels tired, he slowly closes his eyes, welcoming the darkness that came next.

"Ah! Good evening, Onii-chan!" he blinks his eyes, the voice is familiar.

"Illya...?" She looks worried, she poked his head up, and it droops back down.

"Hey! Don't fall asleep!" She starts to pull on his cheeks, rather hard actually.

"Ow, ow, ow! Okay!" He opens his eyes, knowing what will happen if he closed them, he tries his best to stay awake.

She starts to pout cutely.

"Geez, I come all this way to see you and you fall asleep, Onii-chan!" Her smile immediately returns. "But I'm glad! I wanted to talk to you for a long time!" She tilts her head curiously.

"What happened between you as that Servant?"

"Ah, nothing we we're just... disagreeing on something."

"But you got all hurt!" She said, her face showing slight concern and anger.

"It was a... large disagreement..." He can see she doesn't buy it. At all.

"...Well, I didn't come all the way just to see you..." Her expression changes, her eyes turn sharp and cold, her lips curl up darkly. "Saber's going to disappear soon, and you don't know what to do, right?"

"!" Shirou tries to move but he feels constricted, he can't move. His dwindling strength already disappearing. But besides all that, it feels... familiar, yet... weaker...

"I was surprised you know... I didn't think you would kill Rider's Master, I was watching from the sidelines and I was amazed at what you did! I was even going to kill him, but you beat me to it! You know you should clean up your own messes, Onii-chan! It took me forever to dispose of him! I almost got his filthy blood on me!" She once again smiles brightly.

Shirou jerks his body to move, he feels his limbs are numb, he forces his Od through his system to move his body, to resist the strange magic.

"Illya you...?!" He gets up and moves away from her.

"Hmm... your magical resistance isn't that bad, it manages to block my eyes, but you must be so tired, right? Come with me peacefully or else..." She snaps her fingers and the mad beast materializes behind her.

"I'll take care of you, okay? Soon enough Saber will disappear and you won't have to worry about anything else again." Shirou doesn't have any options, he's almost out of energy and attempting to fight Berserker now will be suicide.

"Fine... I'll go with you..."

"Perfect! Berserker If you would..." He immediately charges and backhands Shirou in the chest, his almost healed ribs are shattered. He's sent flying through the air and into a tree, his body snaps it in half like a twig. The pain causes him to black out.

_"D-Damn it..."_

"My lady." One of her servants appear. Illya almost pouted, she kinda wished that _those two _were here instead, but she had to grab one of her clueless servants instead, oh well, it didn't really matter now.

"Yes, please go ahead." The lone servant grabs Shirou and they drives away.

What no one noticed is a purple-haired woman hiding in the trees._ "Shirou..." _Deep within her chest she feels slight panic and worry. "Sakura will want to know..." She jumps away disappearing into the night.

* * *

Saber's eyes open in surprise. "Shirou!" She looks around to an empty space. She struggles to get up. She uses the wall as support. She looks around and sees Rin in the kitchen.

"Rin!" She jumps slightly in surprise.

"Saber! Are you well enough to move?" She sees fear in Saber's eyes.

"Rin, listen to me, Shirou has been captured by the enemy!" Her eyes widen and she immediately drops whatever she was doing and they leave.

She follows a magical signature to the park. Her hands begin to glow. "I can feel it. There are magical remains..." She looks deeper into the park "But what is that...?" She feels a humongous amount of residual magical energy... it also feels familiar to her.

"It must have been a fight..." Saber grits her teeth. _"What happened to you, Shirou...?!"_

"That idiot... being so troublesome." She turns and looks at Saber, anger and fear in her eyes. "Illyasviel..."

"Rin?"

"The one who took Emiya-kun was Berserker's Master!" Rin said with anger.

Saber's eyes widen. "Please Rin! We need to go now!"

Rin nods. "Of course, were allies. It wouldn't do me any good if my partners gone." She looks into the dark forest. "It's fine with you, right Archer?" The red knight is there with his arms crossed.

"Whatever you decide, I have no objection." He looks to the sky. _"Dumbass..." _Rin notices his clothes are scuffled and cut, but she doesn't comment. While they are making their way to Illya, Rin speaks up.

"By the way Saber, when you were fighting Rider did you see anything strange? When your Noble Phantasm clashed with Rider's I saw a large... magical shield in the sky, do you know what I'm talking about?"

Saber's eyes widen, she frowns, and becomes deep in thought, she remembers Shirou raising his arm and activating that magic shield. _"But why did he do that...?"_

"Saber?" She looks to Rin.

"Yes... I know it was Shirou who activated that magic ability..." Rin stops running, her eyes widen in realization.

_"He lied about that before, but for what reason...?" _She looks at Saber.

"We'll figure this out later, for now we should hurry." They follow the trace of magic, hoping Shirou is alright.

* * *

Shirou opens his eyes to a black area._ "This again...?" _He suddenly sees a golden light, a beautiful sword appears. "_It's that sword..." _As he was about to reach it he is jolted away, forced back until the sword slowly disappears.

He wakes up, the darkness fades and he notices he's in a very ornate room, it is a large room filled with... stuffed animals. It looks more like a castle than anything else. He tries to get up but notices he's tied down to the chair. He was about to use reinforcement until the door opens.

"You're finally awake! Good morning, Onii-chan, how are you feeling?"

"..." He doesn't respond, she tilts her head in curiosity.

"Hmm? Did the pain medicine not fully wear off?"

"I'm fine... I just don't feel like talking, being captured and all..."

"You're not satisfied? Prisoners are supposed to stay in the dungeon, but I took the trouble to bring you to my room." She skips around the room, smiling and twirling around.

"Besides, no one will come to save you, the Einzbern Castle is a couple hour trip to get here and is separated from the town by a large forest, and even then it's protected by a large and powerful Bounded Field, there's no way Saber will save you, and Rin will abandon you."

Shirou couldn't risk anything, sure he could easily break out, but he might hurt Illya. He especially didn't want to do anything with that Giant looming in the shadows.

"Besides." She said. "You're special Onii-chan." She gets up on his lap and positions her hands on his thighs, getting uncomfortably close to a certain area. "It's because you're _mine_ Onii-chan. You can't do anything anymore, just stay with me and serve me and me only."

"No... I can't just give up now! I can't give up on Saber! She needs me to be her Master!" Her smile fades and is replaced with a blank expression.

"I see... you betrayed me as well." She turn and walks out the door. The only reason for that is...

"No! Illya you leave them alone! This is between you and me!" Her face is gleaming with a murderous intent.

"Why? When they die, perhaps then you'll show some regret..." She walks out the door but stops, she turns and an insane grin etched across her face.

"I'll kill you last, Onii-chan so sit back and enjoy the show." She closes the door with a loud click.

"Damn it..." He shifts his hands and notices they aren't bound too tight, he reinforces his muscles and rips out of his bonds. He stood up and rubbed his wrists, he makes it to the door, but hears footsteps and indistinct voices.

_"Are those guards patrolling?" _He traces his swords and waits, he waits until the footsteps stop. He charges at the door yelling a battle cry. The door suddenly opens and the familiar white blouse and blue skirt enters his vision.

"Sa-Saber?!"

"Shirou?!" They crash into each other, and once again, Shirou and his bad luck strike.

"Owww... That hurt." He notices he's on top of Saber... again... why does this keep happening...?!

"Saber! Why are you...! I mean, I'm glad you're alright!" He smiles not caring about the position he's in.

"Yes, I'm relieved you're also safe and sound, Shirou!" She smiles, a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders.

"Well aren't you two getting comfy?" He turns to see Rin and Archer.

"Tohsaka?! And... Archer..." He gives the slightest of nods to Archer, and he gives one back.

"Why are you still sitting there! We confirmed that Illya has left the estate, and because of that we got a golden opportunity to sneak out." Shirou sighs in relief.

"That's good, she's probably headed to my house." When he gets up Saber notices how bloody Shirou's shirt is, she notices a large x-shaped slash mark on the back of his shirt.

"Shirou did something happen? Did Illyasviel do this to you?!"

"Ah, n-no she didn't do anything..." His eyes meet Archers for a split-second.

"It was... Berserker, I didn't go down without fighting but he easily overpowered me and I got captured..." He can see she didn't buy it, she's about to speak up, but Rin interrupts them, he can see she also didn't buy it.

"Enough chit-chat already, don't forget we're still in enemy territory! There's still a chance Illyasviel will come back at any moment, and knowing her will end in catastrophe. So let's go!" She turns and runs, not waiting for an answer.

"Shirou..."

"Yeah..." They also run. While they're running, Shirou notices how much Saber's struggling. "Saber, are you sure you're alright? You seemed... out of it before, you know distant."

She smiles softly, even as sweat rolls down her face and her breathing becomes heavier. "Don't worry about me, Shirou. Please have faith in your Servant." It took some time, many, many hallways, twists and turns until they finally reached the main entrance.

"Good we made it." Rin said. "We should hurry, it's almost sunset and I assume none of you want to spend the rest of the day on the highway, right?" Her footsteps echo, each step bouncing off the walls, it's dead silent.

"Are you leaving so soon? and just as I was hoping to play some more... what a pity." The voice that no one wanted to hear, breaks the silence. They all turn to see Illya and the Berserking Giant.

The atmosphere shakes from his power, even if he knows he _could_ defeat him, he still feels his impending doom, deep in his gut.

"Good evening, I'm glad you came from your side, Tohsaka Rin." She said darkly.

"..." Rin doesn't move or speak.

"What's wrong? It's boring if you're quiet."

"...So you never left you're home, right? Illyasviel?" Rin said quietly.

"That's right!" She replies enthusiastically. "I knew that you all came, this is the forest of the Einzbern's after all so I'm able to stretch my senses around it." Her expression darkens. "Whoever intrudes cannot escape." She looks behind her. "Well then, Berserker..." He jumps down, his overwhelming size blocks the light, casting a eerie shadow. His glowing red eyes looking down to them.

_"What do we do...?" _Shirou looks to his left hand. "It... it has to be done..." He walks forward.

"Emiya-kun?!" He ignores her.

"Master, stop!" He keeps walking, he raises his hands.

"Trace O-" He's interrupted.

"Wait!..." She looks to the red knight. "Please listen, Archer... with a few minutes, I don't mind." Her face grimaces. "Please! Stall him so we can escape!" Everyone goes into shocked silence.

"..." Archer has a neutral expression on his face.

"Rin, that's...!"

_"She's telling her own Servant to die!" _He can't allow this! Even if it's someone like Archer, he was... still a good person.

"This is absurd Rin! Fighting someone like Berserker is suicide!"

"...This is the only way, Archer will buy us some time." She doesn't speak anymore.

"It's fine, if Rin and the others were to escape first, I can escape too. Independent Action is an Archer's field of expertise anyway." He said casually.

She giggles. "Oh? I'm surprised Rin, you think you can stop my Hercules with a no-name Servant? Are you serious about that?"

Rin is struggling for words. "Archer, I'm..."

"By the way, Rin..." He said coolly. "It's okay to buy time but, you wouldn't mind if I killed him, right?" His signature smirk on his face.

Her eyes widen. "Archer..." Her eyes become shadowed. "It's fine, if you want to kill him, you don't need my permission..."

"I see... then I'll try not to disappoint you."

Illya frowns deeply. "Tsk! You think you're funny? Berserker! Tear him to pieces!" He roars, almost shaking the very earth with his stomping feet.

"Now! Let's go!" Rin starts to run. Shirou doesn't move.

"Shirou?!"

Shirou clenches his fists, he is about to speak.

"You better not regret your decision." The illusion of Unlimited Blade Works appears. "I burned my dream, on the verge of death I thought about saving everyone. Even now, that did not change... no I should say it cannot be changed. It's okay now, I know now you won't follow the same path as me, but if you ever do, I will expect to see you in the red deserted plain in the end. You were given that chance to change when I was not, so don't screw up and don't doubt any decision's you make, and remember... don't forget your purpose for fighting, and accept it. Without power I couldn't protect anyone, so I'll at least do it in my dreams..."

He traces his swords, and he slowly raises them. "What you should be visualizing is yourself being the strongest, you don't need any external enemies. The only opponent you have to fight... is your own image." He turns and smiles, his smile is not cynical and forced, it's genuine, content. It was like he was staring into a mirror.

"Don't disappoint me, boy..." He throws Bakuya to the ceiling, causing it to crack and break apart, the ceiling falls. Making a wall of debris separating him from them.

"Go, Emiya Shirou, now is not the day for you to die..."

"Archer..." Shirou is speechless.

"Shirou, please hurry!" Saber grabs his hand and pulls him to the exit.

He runs without looking back, the red knight's back tells him to just go.

* * *

Berserker charges at blinding speeds, he is already upon Archer. He jumps out of the way avoiding the deadly swings, he notices his coat tail rip slightly. He tries to deflect the hit but he's easily forced back, swatted like a fly.

He completely jumps over a massive swing from Berserker, but he is still slashed, a large gash appears on his shoulder. "This is what happens even after completely dodging...?"

"Enough, Berserker! Stop playing and kill him already!" Berserker turns quickly and charges, howling like a mad beast. Archer waits for the right moment and he's speeds through, slashing Berserker across the neck, his blades shatter.

She starts to giggle. "It's no use Archer! Someone as weak as you can never hurt Berserker!" Archer slowly closes his eyes and retraces his swords. Berserker charges and he's forced to dodge the swings of the superhuman beast, he's forced to move back until a swing comes too fast, he block's with his swords. He's easily overpowered and is launched, slamming into the wall.

Blood flows from a cut on his head. Archer is struggling to move, he feels his body weakening. Berserker charges and once again swings his axe-sword, attempting to end his life.

"So that's how it is..." Archer hastily creates a three pedal Rho Aias, and deflects Berserkers hit. He felt something rip open within his body, but that didn't matter right now, his eyes flicker to the upper railing.

"Wh-What?!" Illya exclaims._ "He blocked Berserker's hit?! How is someone like that capable of this...?" _He immediately jumps over the upstairs railing and Berserker also jumps, lifting his massive weapon to cut down Archer. He closes his eyes and his left hand begins to glow, a large bow materializes in seconds.

** "I am the bone of my sword..." **A sword appears in his right. It's a large spiral shaped sword, with details on the hilt and pommel. It's appearance warps and changes and it becomes long and narrow. **"Caladbolg...!"** He aims at the Giant Beast and shoots point-blank.

It easily pierced his chest and a large explosion consumes the area in smoke. A great pillar of energy shoots out and breaks thought the ceiling, causing the air to shake from the overwhelming power.

"That sound just now..." Shirou notices the pillar of light.

"It was most likely... Archer..." Saber said, clearly in awe of the power displayed.

Rin flinches and grabs her hand tightly. "...Let's go! We have to make it out of here no matter what!" She starts to run before Shirou can protest, he wordlessly follows.

The smoke clears and Berserker is seen, a pool of blood quickly forms under him. A massive hole is in his chest, his wound bleeding heavily, he doesn't move for a bit, until like a switch his dim eyes light up and he roars. The wound soon heals immediately.

"Berserker was actually killed? Who exactly is he...? Could he be projecting Noble Phantasms?" Illya is shocked beyond words.

Archer looks calmly at Berserker. "That would have instantly killed any normal Servant." Berserker roars and begins to charge again, Archer jumps up through the hole in the celling.

Illya immediately yells. "Berserker, after him!"

Archer stand on the railing waiting calmly, until he hears the loud growling of Berserker, he jumps out of his range and he is still cut deeply. "You move pretty well for having such a huge body."

Berserker jumps over the railing but his size and weight causes him to fall through the weakened roof, immobilizing him for a bit.

**"Steel is my body and Fire is my blood..." **He traces his swords and throws them in the air.

**"I have created over a thousand blades..." **He creates more as they spin through the air, they all connect and slam into Berserker causing a large explosion. He creates two more and starts to run.

** "Unknown to death... Nor known to life..." **He brings his hands behind his back, he starts to fill them with mana, past their limit. They begin to grow, like a pair of wings. He begins to chant.

"Spirit and technique, flawless and firm, Our strength rips the mountains, Our swords split the water, Our names reach the imperial villa, The two of us cannot hold the heavens together—Two great men, sharing a life..."

**"Crane Wing Three Realm!"**

He brings the broken, unstable swords down on Berserker. They easily slash through his body and he roars in pain. Archer's eyes widen and he jumps back as an explosion occurs. He can't feel his left arm.

"There goes my arm, I guess..." The wounds instantly heal on Berserker and he slowly brings his body out of the hole.

"I see... the Strongest Servant indeed..." Berserker runs forward and his axe-sword slams into Archer, he is shot straight to the wall and he grunts in pain. His mind flashes to the red-haired boy.

He smiles grimly and walks up to Berserker, he once again brings his sword down breaking the roof and Archer falls through, his body lifelessly hits the ground.

Rin's command seal lights up, she grabs her hand painfully.

"Tohsaka?" Shirou asks worryingly.

"Archer is..." Saber said quietly.

"No... he's... still trying hard..." She grits her teeth and keeps running.

Illya walks down the stairs. "Well, maybe you regret this a little now?" She has a devilish smile on her face.

Archers mind flashes to Rin and the others. "...I thought I had freed myself from all that..."

"He's alive?" She looks up. "No way... Berserker! Stop playing around, there's something wrong with his head! Kill him now before you're killed!" Berserker jumps down, he prepares to attack.

Archer struggles to get up. "You're still so merciless... Illya..." She stops moving.

"Illya?" She mumbles.

He gets up and his cocky smirk is still on his face. "Even though it won't change the fact I will lose, I'll make it harder for you to end this, Berserker. At least go easy on me, but take two more of these blades with you."

He traces his swords and throws Bakuya straight into the only light source, the area is blanketed in darkness. Illya gasps in surprise.

"Where... I can't sense him, did he escape?" Berserker an unmoving statue also looks around. Suddenly the light shines from the hole in the ceiling. It slowly moves until it lands on Archer's body.

He is kneeling, his right arm crossed against his chest. Illya smiles "It seems the lunar goddess's didn't bless you! Berserker!" He bellows a roar and charges.

**"Have withstood pain to create many weapons..." **Berserker is getting closer.

**"Yet those hands will never hold anything..." **Berserker raises his weapon.

**"So as I pray... Unlimited Blade Works!" **He gives a proud smile.

Just as Berserker was about to strike him down, the ring of fire consumes Berserker and Illya, a great light flashes and she shuts her eyes, closing them from the light. She opens her eyes and gasps from what she sees.

"This is... a **Reality Marble**..." Berserker turns to the smiling Archer. He grabs a nameless swords and lifts it to the air. "As you can see you're surrounded by an unlimited amount of blades, the finest of blades." He point his sword.

"Throw away your fear and take me out!" Berserker howls and runs, his weapon raised, ready to face against the limitless number of swords. Archer also runs, he yells a battle cry and their blades clash.

Rin stops suddenly, her hand glows one more time then her command seal fades away.

"Tohsaka..." Shirou said.

"...Keep going." Her voice is quiet, Shirou hears the ragged breathing of Saber, he hears her cry out and fall.

"Please... Just leave me..." Saber said.

"Saber! Enough of this!" He doesn't wait for a reply, he picks her up and notices how light she is, he does his best to ignore those thoughts.

Her face flushes. "Shirou! Put me down! I won't burden you because of my injuries!" She struggles in his arms, she tries to push Shirou away but she's too weak right now.

"No, we promised to help each other out, and something as simple as this is the least I can do." He waited for any protest from Saber but got none. He kept running forward until they were once again behind Rin, she speaks up.

"Saber will only slow us down in that condition, we need to replenish her prana as soon as possible. I know a place we can rest." They follow her to the destination.

Archer's feels his presence fading, he knows he's going to die, yet he still has a smile on his face. _"Not bad... you better stay alive, Emiya Shirou, for their sake... and possibly mine as well..."_

He looks to the sky and he fades away from existence. Illya slowly walks down the steps and kicks Archer's remaining sword and it fades away as well. She looks up at Berserker's condition. Multiple swords are sticking out of his body he has holes all over his body, there is no place where he is not wounded.

He has massive chunks of flesh destroyed from his body, his legs are almost melted to the bone and one of his arms are barely hanging from his elbow, his skin is horribly burned and a part of his face is destroyed.

_"I can't believe this. What is he?! Defeating Berserker six times, something like that is unheard of! The Strongest Servant in the Holy Grail War has been mortally wounded to the brink of almost six times!"_

She looks at the empty space left by Archer._ "Not only that... I also watched him unleash his entire strength, though I should have I didn't realize his true identity until the bitter end..." _

Her mind flashes to the red-haired boy, then to the white-haired man. _"Shirou..."_ She shakes her head, clearing that out of her mind. She looks at Berserker, he doesn't move. It's only natural, it's a corpse, no matter how one looks at it.

"Berserker! Care to explain? You weren't going easy on him, were you?!"

**"..."** He only stays silent, watching his Master. If he were summoned as a normal Servant he would have grieved that this battle "deserved better". If he had not been maddened he would have matched Archer's swords to his hearts content.

"Feh, alright, Berserker let's go! I won't let them make a fool of us anymore!" She begins to move but Berserker stays put.

**"..." **

"Why the frustration? The deadly wounds you received shouldn't cause you pain anymore. Besides, after these six attempts you did a good job, it's enough for now." His wounds begin to heal rapidly and he moves.

"The hunt begins now! Onii-chan will finally learn the pain of losing someone important to him!" She slowly walks out of her ruined home.

* * *

Shirou, Rin and Saber are slowly walking and finally reach an abandoned house.

"...Archer was the one who found this place, at least it's clean. You can put Saber on that bed, I need to get some equipment for the procedure." She leaves to another room.

"Shirou, you should get some rest too..." He looks down to Saber, he wipes some sweat off her face.

"I'm fine, just rest for now, Tohsaka will figure this out." She slowly closes her eyes and begins her restless sleep. Shirou frowns.

_"Saber... even if it would be impossible to save you and get out of this forest in time, surely... this place just seems too good to be true, just what am I supposed to do, Tohsaka...?"_

Rin is in the other room and is searching through a small bag she's brought. She is making sure she has everything prepared until she notices a certain item. She pulls out her ruby necklace. "Archer..."

(Flashback Start.)

_"Rin, it's time for me to give this back to you." _He hand her the red pendant.

She's surprised. _"This... is my pendant?" _

Archer looks away._ "Lancer supposedly discovered it by the school grounds that night. You may have overlooked it. Seriously, something seems amiss with you lately..."_ She was about to rant about how annoying her Servant is again, but what he says next stops her in her tracks.

_"Since you're still new to the magic world, don't go overboard and don't risk it." _He turns and smiles. _"However... as a person you're more likable, I'm glad to have to as my Master, Rin..."_

(Flashback End.)

Rin clenches her fist._ "Even if your gone now, why does it feel like you're still watching over me...?" _She looks to the sky for a bit, a small frown appears on her face, she leaves and goes to Shirou and Saber.

"So what do we do now, Tohsaka?" Shirou asks.

"Right now we have to defeat Berserker, and help Saber recover." She said.

"I see..."

"Are you prepared?" Rin said.

"Yes, even if you already said it I already knew it."

"Ok, so let me explain. The reason that Saber's mana didn't replenish is because Emiya's and her connection is incomplete. So now you need to replenish her, if you manage to do that then she should be able to use her abilities like before."

"But wait, Have you forgotten Tohsaka? I can't do any magical replenishment abilities and stuff like that...?"

Her face reddens. "There is a way... I explained this to you yesterday, there's one other way to share magic, but this is the last thing I thought we would do... it's called a Tantric Ritual, you see Saber and you not only have a spiritually connected path but also a physical path. So there's no need to use difficult magic to replenish her reserves. So all you have to do is give her energy, it also doesn't matter where you give Saber her treatment."

Shirou tilts his head in confusion. "Eh...? But Tohsaka I don't know any of that stuff... you said a Master can gives energy but... how do I do that?" She looks at Shirou in surprise, as if he's supposed to already know. She stares for a minute and says it as simply as possible.

"Sleep with her. Saber's a girl fortunately, so it should be easy, right?" She said lightly.

"...What?" Shirou's brain shuts down for a moment._ "Sleep with her... that, um... means_..."

"WHA-WHAAAAAAAT?! H-H-H-H-Hold on, w-w-w-why are we going this way all of a sudden?!" His face burns and he backpedals against a wall.

"This is the only way." She said bluntly. "With that fractured bond of yours, this will at least give Saber a boost in the morning." A faint blush across her face.

"B-But..." He said weakly, he's starting to become light-headed.

"S-Shirou..." Saber's voice stop's him cold. He turns to Saber, she is sitting up with a large blush on her face. "I-It's okay..." She looks away in embarrassment.

"..." His mind is going overdrive. _"She said it's fine, which means..." _He doesn't have anymore time to think when Rin grabs his hand and drags him to the bed, she then pushes him on top of Saber, there bodies touching each other. He remembers a similar night with Sakura. A feeling of guilt crosses his heart.

_ "I can't do this to her, but... Saber will disappear if I don't..." _Rin then does something he didn't predict at all, she grabs him and kisses him!

"Mmph?!" His breath goes away, he can't think straight, he feels how soft Rin's lips are, they taste sweet. A small trail of saliva leaves their lips.

"There's no time!" She said breathlessly. "We don't know when Illyasviel will barge through that door, so I'm speeding up the process..." She turns to Saber "It seems I must help you as well, Saber..." Rin positions herself on Saber.

(Lemon Start.)

"Wha...! Rin, what are you doing?!" Saber sounds confused.

"Relax, it seems you aren't used to this, so I'm helping you both..." Her hand lower to a certain area on Saber, she starts to caress her, slowly moving up and down across it. Saber's moans echo across the empty room.

It only becomes louder the faster Rin goes. She starts to kiss her, their tongues intertwining, a trail of saliva escapes their mouths. She unbuttons Saber's shirt and turns to Shirou. "I think she's ready, Emiya-kun..." He gulps and slowly gets up and he unbuttons his pants, he hears Rin gasp, he turns to a shocked and very red faced Rin.

"Tohsaka...? is something wrong?" She looks at Shirou for a moment then she turns away.

"N-Nothing's wrong... It's just that you're... a lot bigger than I expected..." She mumbles that last part. Shirou starts to blush, was that a compliment? She grabs Shirou and guides him to Saber, she seems to be in a daze, probably from what Rin did...

"Sh-Shirou...?" She seems to snap out of her daze and notices what he's about to do.

"Sorry Saber, this might hurt a bit..." He enters her, the pleasure causing him to buckle, she cries out in pain. "Saber! Are you okay?!" She has tears coming out of her eyes.

"I-I'm fine... It just surprised me is all... you can continue, Shirou..." He nods and begins to move.

"Ah! Mm...!" Her moans become louder and louder, he quickly grabs her breasts, he kisses her neck, he starts to rub her inner thighs. He's just letting his body moving on it's own.

"S-Shirou, I'm about to... Ah!" She yells out and she tightens around him, he can't hold out any longer and releases into her. She collapses to the bed, exhausted from the ordeal. Shirou is still far from that, he hears Rin get up.

"She should be fine now, so you should get some rest, Emiya-kun..." She begins to leave the bed, but a hand grabs her arm.

"Shirou...?" He pulls her to the bed. "H-Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" He doesn't answer and kisses her.

"Mmph?!" It's her turn to be surprised. He grabs her arms and pins them, she's lost all her energy from that kiss. She slowly kisses back, she feels his tongue slid into her mouth, she feels it explore every nook and corner it possibly can. He soon breaks the kiss, both of them are breathing heavily, their foreheads are resting against each other.

Shirou soon enough starts to massage her body, feeling up and down her arms, her waist, her legs. His hand hand slowly going to her private, he does the same thing she did moments ago.

"Ah! N-No! Not there!" Her cries of pleasure echo louder across the empty room. "S-Shirou, I-I can't take it anymore... p-please hurry..." His eyes, full of lust, look at her and he nods slightly. He starts to undress her clothes and she blushes in embarrassment, but he still continues.

He positions himself and enters her slowly, she cries out in pain and he pauses so she can get used to the size, she starts to tear up but she nods to him. He begins to move, she wraps her legs around his waist and he starts to go faster and faster, he begins to kiss her neck, he nibbles her ear and he once again let's his body move on it's own.

She starts to moan louder, until she can't hold out. "Ah! Shirou!" She yells out and tightens around him. He once again releases and they both collapse. He feels Rin snuggle closer to his body and Saber as well, his eyes slowly close and he's fallen asleep.

(Lemon End.)

* * *

The sun shines through the window and he opens his eyes to see the naked bodies of Rin and Saber clinging onto each of his arms. Rin has crossed one of her legs over his. His face goes atomic, he can't move or else he'll disturb their sleep and worse he'll have to face the wrath of Rin.

So he lays their waiting. He feels even guiltier than before, he only did _it_ with Saber to heal her but he also did it with Rin... why? He looks at her sleeping form, and a similar feeling stirs in his chest. He feels Saber begin to stir, she blinks the sleep out of her eyes.

"Shirou, you are awake?" She asked.

"Ah! Saber you look much better!" Her skin has lost it's pale quality, and her voice is no longer weak and distant but strong and close. He feels Rin begin to stir as well, she sits up and cutely rubs her eyes, not noticing the position she's in. She finally does one final stretch and looks to her right.

"..." Her brain seems to stop working for a moment, she then immediately grabs the pillow and covers her body. Her face blushes deeply and she whacked Shirou across his head, hard.

"Ow! What was that for?!" She readies her fist for another strike.

"You IDIOT! You were only supposed to do _it_ with Saber!" Shirou's brain vividly remembers last night.

"Um..." He doesn't know what to say. "...Sorry? I guess I went a little overboard..." She suddenly gains a demonic aura, her eyes glow red. He suddenly wants to fight a hundred Berserker's then stay here.

"Why you...!" Her body shakes in anger, she's about to attack when Saber speaks up.

"Now Rin, Shirou was... in the moment, so to speak... and besides, it didn't seem like you didn't enjoy it...?" Saber said knowingly. Huh, where did this come from? Rin's face starts to glow.

"W-W-W-What are you talking about?!" She gets up and runs to the other room.

"...I think we should get dressed now."

"Yes."

After the very awkward morning, everyone is soon dressed, and they prepare to discuss there next plan of action.

Rin begins. "Okay, we can't match Berserker with normal tactics, and especially finding out about his multiple lives is troubling. What we need to do is execute a surprise attack and attack him fast and don't let him counterattack. Since Illyasviel can sense your and Saber's presence, it will be easy for me since I can hide mine."

"...Tohsaka, don't tell me you're doing the counterattack?"

"Of course, she will be focused on you the most, leave it to me to hit Berserkers from behind."

"But, someone like Berserker won't be off guard just like that..."

"Yes, that's why Saber will create an opening. How much have you recovered?"

"Very much it seems, normal battle will be fine for me, but I should avoid using my Noble Phantasm, even with the... large amount of energy Shirou gave me, if I use it I will be completely defenseless against Berserker."

"It's fine, that's more than enough while you and Emiya-kun fight Berserker, I'll be hiding. Illyasviel will probably think I've ran away or something."

"There is still one objection, I can't have Shirou fighting someone like Berserker, even with his abilities, he can't stand up to his attacks." Saber said.

"I'm not saying for Shirou to go hand-to-hand with Berserker I'm telling him to support you in the back."

"But Rin, Shirou cannot do something like that. He can't do any black magic and his magic forces him to get close to the enemy." She has a troubled face.

"Don't worry, I think I have a solution."

"Eh?" They turn around, was what he said really that surprising?

"Trace On." He closes his eyes and his left hand begins to glow, the light slowly warps and moves until it finishes, the light fades away. He opens his eyes to see the bow of Archer, it's not one hundred percent perfect, but it's close.

Rin's eyes widen slightly, for a single second she thought she saw Archer, his auburn hair changes to white, his golden-brown eyes become steel-gray, and his skin became tan, but as fast as the changes came, it went.

"Shirou, that's..."

"...Well at least you have a way to attack now. Going back to the main topic. I'll have you two attacking Berserker and I'll go on top of a tree beforehand, so when Saber creates an opening, I'll attack him with my spare jewels, it's as simple as that, do you agree?" She asks.

"Yes, it's a fine plan." Saber said.

"Now, we have to find someplace where I can hide and where it'll be easy for Shirou to support Saber. Let's find a good spot before Ilyasviel gets here." They go outside, but Saber trips over some rubble.

"!" She's about to fall, until Shirou grabs her hand.

"Hey, you got to be careful. There's things scattered everywhere..." She doesn't respond.

"Saber...?" Her face is burning "Is something wrong?"

"...No, it's not that... but, you're holding my hand..." She blushes even more.

"Oh..." He blushes too, he remembers Saber's sensation last night and he pulls away quickly.

"..."

"..." They can't talk, they have nothing clever to say.

"L-Lets go outside, I'm sure Tohsaka is waiting for us..."

"T-That's right, let's hurry Shirou..." They move with an awkward silence.

They all soon reach an open area in the woods.

"Is this area good, Tohsaka?"

"Several points are good, but I'm not so sure about it being so open. There aren't any escape routes for you or Saber. Let's keep looking." Saber is looking in the distance.

"Saber what are you doing? If we don't hurry Illya will-" The air becomes heavy and he feels a chill go down his spine.

"Fu, fu... found you~." Her voice echo's in the dense forest. They see a speeding black mass getting closer and closer.

A droplet of sweat rolls down Rin's face. "Crap! She's already here?! This is bad, this place is too open... with the speed their going we don't even have two minutes!"

"It's fine, let's fight here, Tohsaka." He said calmly.

"Why are you so relaxed?! I'm telling you this place is too open, Saber can't block all of Berserker's hits and you'll be in range no matter how far you are!"

"I told you it's fine, were all in danger now, and besides there's no escape now, right?"

"That's true... but..."

"Its fine with you too, right Saber? We will fight Berserker here." She nods quietly.

Rin knows she can't argue any longer. "F-Fine! I'll be pissed if you die!" She runs off into the fog.

Shirou looks at Saber. "Are you ready?"

She nods. "Yes, but please be careful and stay back. I won't let Berserker near you." The fog is pushed away by a great force, and the Giant and white haired girl enter the area.

"I'm surprised, I thought you would keep running Onii-chan... hmm? Where's Rin? Is she dead? Or did she abandon you like I said before? It doesn't matter anyway, this is the Einzbern's bounded field, so I'll find her eventually." She looks at Saber.

"Oh...? It seems your Servant recovered. Ah... I see, that's why you stopped running. He he, it's cute thinking you can win just because of that, but Shirou is going to die here." Her laughter echo's through the forest.

"Geez, this got so boring since you got so quiet, are you afraid of dying? You know if you beg for you're lives now I might forgive you."

"..."

"Still staying silent? Fine, if you won't talk then I guess it's time to end this... unless you still want to consider my offer...?" Her voice sounds slightly hopeful, wanting to hear those faithful words.

"No, I'm sorry Illya, but I'm still Saber's Master and I will continue being her Master and defeat Berserker." The air freezes.

"I see... then I'll really have to kill you..." Her entire body glows, an intricate pattern appears, it's a command seal, not just that, a huge one.

She speaks in a deadly voice. "Go mad, Hercules." The already oppressive aura is doubled... no tripled, and as an answer he roars, the earth shakes from the volume, it's as if he's actually gone completely insane, his strength increases as his body deforms and swells with power.

"Impossible! You were just taking away his reasoning? Berserker was never fighting at full strength?!" Saber's voice is uneasy.

Illya smiles. "Go! Berserker, kill anything that's near you!" He roars it once again shakes the earth and he jumps, his mass already causing him to fall straight to Shirou and Saber.

"Saber!" She runs to where Berserker will land, she raises her sword, the ground trembles as if stopping a meteor, Saber attacks Berserker. A huge shock-wave commences, Berserker's swings cut the air in two, the downward swings are like waterfalls.

If Saber gets hit by that she will be fatally injured. Saber deflects each hit without faltering, she deflects them with all her strength, if she doesn't she will be cut in half. She continues relentlessly attacking with all her might.

But... It's still to different, their speed, their range and especially their strength are still too damn different. All she can do is offset the colossal strikes. They strike at speed no man can follow, Saber's losing, her armor is chipping away, but she still continues onward, bravely meeting his strikes blow for blow.

With every strike she's reaching her limit, she's starting to breathe wildly, her movements are starting to slow, she can't even attempt to create an opening, sooner or later she will be cut down by Berserker. Shirou looks to the bow in his hand.

_"I guess it's time, please just hold out a little longer, Saber!" _Shirou lifts his left hand.** "I am the bone of my sword..."** He feels as if his circuits were ripping apart, even saying that one line from the Marble's aria, their ideals were still too different to enact the Reality Marble, if he tried another line, he would be ripped to shreds.

He pushed on, and forced the prana to his hand. A light appears, it begins to glow and warp, it finishes and he opens his eyes. It is a pitch-black weapon, with a few small edges coiling around the thin core, spiraling around it and somewhat curving outward.

**Hrunting**, the weapon that was used by the great Beowulf to slay Grendel's mother. It will follow the most direct path to its target, and it will continue to pursue the target, even if parried, repulsed, or avoided, as long as the shooter keeps aiming at the target. He notches it into his bow and begins to charge it with power.

"Saber, move!" She noticed the built up of power and was ready for anything. As soon as Berserker finished a swing, she jumps back avoiding another powerful strike that horribly scrapes across her armor, Shirou releases the projectile, it becomes a magical bullet that is enveloped in a red light that reaches speeds of Mach 10.

Berserker doesn't even notice it pierced his body.

He stops moving, but... it didn't kill him, his eyes seem to shine brighter and he roars, ripping it out of his chest with a mass of blood splattering across the land. Shirou's arms drop, he's used all of his own prana for that attack, and now he's useless. But it's enough time for Rin to use that opportunity.

"Move, Saber!" She jumps down from the branch, she lifts her hand and throws her jewels.

**"Neun, Acht, Sieben...! Stil, schießt Beschießen, Erschie Ssung...!"** They all strike Berserker and three great ice shapes spears, having enough energy to destroy a mansion is brought down on the monster.

"No! Dodge it, Berserker!" Illya screams, she realized too late how dangerous that attack is. But... he swings his axe-sword destroying three ice blocks, the ice consumes and immobilizes his right arm. But he raises his left arm and grabs Tohsaka's descending body.

Her face contorts in pain, from the strength in his arm, Berserker could easily crush her, but beside that she has a triumphant smile on her face.

"Heh, just as I thought..." She brings out four more gems, they have enough power to kill a Servant. "Got you!" She releases their power, they slam into Berserker point-blank, destroying his head... but he still hold on, his grip tightens and she yells out in pain.

_ "How many lives does this guy have left?!" _Shirou thought.

Illya begins to laugh. "I underestimated you Rin Tohsaka, killing Berserker even once is something remarkable, but it doesn't matter, you can crush her if you want, Berserker."

"Ahh—kua!" She starts to scream, his giant fingers dig into her stomach. A bit of blood begins to leak out of her mouth.

"Let her go!" Shirou releases the 'Shroud' and traces his twin swords, he swings with all his might on Berserkers arm, it only leaves the smallest of scratches, if he was a normal Servant that would have cut their arm off. He swings his frozen sword too fast for Shirou to dodge, he is sent flying. He feels his bones instantly shatter in his body.

"Guh!" But he once again moves his body, doing everything he can to distract Berserker. He traces nameless sword after sword swinging and slashing at his body, and each one shatter against his skin. Berserker stops squeezing, deciding to kill this nuisance before killing the girl.

As he's swinging and tracing each weapon... his mind goes to that one sword, it's blurry and out of his reach but... it's somehow familiar. His mind lingers on that thought for too long and Berserker once again slams his frozen sword on Shirou, sending him to the ground.

"Shirou!" She looks to her invisible sword, she knows the outcome yet she readies to use the Holy Sword. The wind starts to pick up again, and a golden light escapes her hands.

"Don't you dare, Saber!" His tone making her falter slightly. But she brings the blade up.

"This is the only way, Shirou! I'm sorry but it has to be done..." Shirou is still on the ground getting ready to move.

"No! We'll find another way!" He doesn't notice Berserker bring his leg back and kick his side, he felt his ribs cave in. He's sent flying across the land. "Gah!" He's beginning to lose consciousness.

"Shirou!... I'm sorry but it must be done!" She raises her Holy Sword, it starts to fill with her mana, and the wind starts to pick up, causing the trees to sway and the ground to shake.

"No! Saber if you do that...!" Rin yells through the pain.

Illya giggles. "Are you sure about using that? With your already dwindling magic reserves, do you really think you can defeat Berserker with one go?"

Saber grits her teeth, ignoring the little Master.** "EX..." **She raises her sword.

Meanwhile Shirou is fading in and out of consciousness, but with every beat of his heart that sword appears, he floods his overused circuits with prana and the sword appearance is fully revealed. _"If only I could reach it...!" _He brings out his hand, but is only met with painful resistance. "Gahhhhh!" He's forced back._ "If I had that sword then I could...!" _He's interrupted.

"No. You are wrong, Emiya Shirou." Shirou looks behind him and the familiar red knight is there.

"Archer?!" He speaks once more.

"Your battle is not in the real world. What you must do now is conquer the enemy in your imagination." He smirks. **"I thought you could keep up with me...?"** He slowly fades away, leaving Shirou with the shining sword.

"I understand now... my job is not meant to fight, but that doesn't mean I won't try! I'll create the strongest projection! An invincible sword that will never break, the most powerful weapon!" He forces himself to go forward ignoring the pain, and he grasps the legendary sword.

"Gah—ah!" Rin is still in his grasp, she's screaming in pain, she feels her ribs crack.

"Rin!" She looks at Shirou's fallen body._ "I'm sorry, Shirou..." _Her eyes burn with determination. **"CALIBU-"**

"Saber!" Berserker notices too late and Shirou slices his arm off, Rin falls to the ground, and the blade shatters like glass.

"Wha...?!" Illya yells.

"That's my...!" Saber whispered.

"Damn, the projection was not good enough, It is supposed to be an invincible sword, a sword that would never break..." He looks at Berserker. "But I need time..." Shirou moves his arms into the familiar stance, he charges at the Giant, dodging his swings and getting close for a specific move, Shirou twists his waist, and positions his right arm back.

**_"Eight Postures of the Buddha Guards!"_ **He brings his right hand forward, it digs into Berserker's stomach and he's sent flying back, a great burst of air follows from that punch, but to someone like that beast it would do little to no damage. But the seconds it gives, would be just enough. Even if his right hand is shattered and the elbow is bent at an awkward angle, it didn't matter.

"TRACE ON!"**  
**

Judging the concept of creation.

Hypothesizing the basic structure.

Duplicating the composition material.

Imitating the skill of its making.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.

Reproducing the accumulated years.

Excelling every manufacturing process.

Surpass it all to create the ultimate weapon!

***CRACK***

"..." Ah...? Again? Everything is becoming hazy, faces are starting to be impossible to remember, but he pushes on. In his hand it forms, the golden light shines bright. Berserker roars, he must know Shirou is a bigger threat. He charges and swings his massive weapon, Shirou can't even remember blocking with it, he feels his arm crack from the pressure. He can't block them all, one swing gets through and he's sent flying back, breaking apart the hard-earth like he was skipping rocks across water.

He grabs his broken arm and with a sickening crack he sets it back to normal. He feels his destroyed organs begin to slowly heal. He raises his sword. "Let's go, Berserker!" He roars and charges forward, his stomps shake the earth. They meet each strike blow-for-blow.

Shirou doesn't have the amazing magical capabilities of Saber, so he has to use strength and strength alone. Berserker swings his sword down with immeasurable strength, Shirou raises his sword and blocks the hit, he feels his body bend and shake from the power, the ground cracks and breaks apart.

"No way..." Who said that? Was it the black-haired girl? With a mighty roar he pushes Berserker back. Shirou charges and starts to fill the sword with prana and it begins to glows, he swings with all his might. Berserker also swings, with his limitless strength, but his axe-sword is cut clean through, the Golden Sword embeds itself deeply into his chest and he is engulfed from the inside-out.

Everything becomes quiet, until a deep voice speaks.

**"So that is your sword, Saber..." **The unbeatable giant is unmoving, he stares down at the knight and the boy who defeated him.

"Yes... that is Caliburn, the sword which chose me to be the king, after I pulled it out of the stone, but..."

**"It's not the real one, an illusion that this man created..." **His voice booms when he speaks, his chest splits open, he's crumbling away like sand.

Saber silently nods.

**"...But even so, it was a formidable illusion. Having the power to destroy**** this body seven times in a single blow, if I had any left I would have surely died nevertheless..." **He puts no emotion into his dying words. He looks to the little girl one last time and slowly starts to fade away, as he's fading he says one last thing, a whisper that Shirou heard.

**"Strange... you and that man are so similar..."** His existence disperses into the air.

Shirou falls to the ground and vomits blood, his lungs aren't working and his heart is beating slower and slower.

"Shirou!" She supports him, but even she doesn't have any energy to spare.

"Sa...ber?" He feels his ribs snap back into place and his breathing calms a bit.

"Shirou, you need to rest now, using projection magic to that high of a degree is something to not shrug off!"

"It can wait... I have someone to talk to first..." Shirou starts to limp toward Illya, she looks at the spot where Berserker once stood.

Saber notices and starts to move. "Illyasviel... good. I do not know your intentions, but we would not wish the trouble of chasing you. Accept your-" Shirou grabs her arm. "No Saber! Don't hurt her, with Berserker gone, she's..." He limps closer and hears her mumbling.

"No way, Did you die, Berserker...? She sounds lost, she seems to finally notice him and she yells, she falls to the ground and attempts to move back. "Stay away!" Shirou keeps moving until he's in front of her, he kneels and lifts his hand. She closes her eyes and waits for her death, but all she feels is a warm hand on her head. She opens her eyes to a smiling face.

"Are you okay, Illya...?" Her eyes widen, she falls to the ground as if someone hit the switch and she passes out.

Rin runs up and she stands on the side. "Emiya-kun..."

"You're okay ...Rin?" That name was hard to remember for some reason. "I'm glad you're safe..." He looks to both of them.

"Let's go home." He picks up the white-haired girl and they slowly leave the forest.

**Author's Notes:**

**Hello again! Sorry for the very long wait but I had a lot of stuff to do this week, and I only had small amounts of time to write this. Anyway I am very surprised over 90 favorites and over a 100 followers I can't believe it! I want to thank all that have stayed with me and I hope you're enjoying it. On a side note this is going to sound more familiar to the visual novel and I will probably use it for almost everything from now on. One reason is the manga is pretty much finished and hasn't updated for a while, but I might go back to it from time to time. The second reason is that the Anime doesn't really do justice for some of the fight scenes, but I might go back to it as well. Also if you haven't guessed by now, I'm following the Fate Route and mixing in Unlimited Blade Works Route and Heaven's Feel Route.**

** The Caster and Kuzuki arc is next and sorry if some of you are annoyed by how this is going but don't worry, the next chapter will have certain... twists in it. Again, sorry for the long wait and I will try to write faster. So I'll see you in the next chapter, Bye!**

**P.S I tried to fix the mistakes I made as much as I could. Due to some of the review's people left, so tell me if it's better or not. I also want to ask if I did the scene with Rin and Saber right, so tell me if it sounded good.**

**P.S.S Some of you pointed it out that this I confused the amount of lives Berserker had.**

**Which I didn't. **

**Let me start from the beginning, when Shirou used the incomplete version of 9 lives blade works, he killed 3 of his lives, then later Archer with his combined attack killed Berserker 6 times. Later Rin managed to kill him once. Also when Shirou used Hrunting he didn't kill him with it, if you didn't read carefully. So in total he was killed 10 times. When Shirou uses Caliburn to destroy Berserker's 2 remaining lives, Berserker just commented that the sword has the power to destroy 7 of his lives, if he had any left. Sorry if I made it sound confusing, but I hope this clears things up.**


	9. Chapter 9: Everything Falls Apart

"Normal Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

Shirou wakes up, The light shines through the window and hits his face. He groans slightly and lets out a small yawn, as he sits there he slowly begins to remember everything. He remembers escaping from Illya's forest and collapsing as soon as he got home.

He remembers Tohsaka going to her room, she said something about her stomach and sides hurting, so she needed to recover. He also remembered carrying something heavy with his strained muscles, causing him to collapse in the first place. Since Saber was the least injured, she watched over the house, letting Shirou and Rin sleep for the time being.

"So I slept half the day, huh?" He mused quietly. He feels a little sore, but besides that... he feels fine. He notices something shift behind him. He turns to see a fully dressed Saber, who's sitting seiza style next to his futon.

"Good morning, Shirou." She's smiling but he sees a troubled look on her face.

"Saber? What's wrong?" She looks at him and a small frown appears.

"No, nothing's wrong... I had a bad dream is all, please do not concern yourself. Besides that Shirou, it's almost time to get up." She said quietly. She leaves the room before he can answer back.

He tilts his head in confusion. _"She's acting strange... oh well, I guess I'll make breakfast now..." _He gets up and freshens up, he then goes to the kitchen.

While he's in the kitchen he hears Saber speak up. "Shirou, we are the only ones awake right now, should we wake Rin?" She asks calmly.

"Hmm... no let her sleep, it was a hard day yesterday, and she was pushed past her limit so she can sleep as long as she wants. Besides her food will be ready and on the table." Shirou said.

She nods. "I see, then it would be good to prepare breakfast soon." He turns back to the kitchen. He begins to mix ingredient after ingredient and a heavenly aroma soon fills the air. He hears Saber speaking in the living room.

"You are awake, Rin?" A grumbled noise is the only response, soon enough a shuffling Rin enters the kitchen.

"...Morning, let me have some milk..." That's the first thing she said, no greeting whatsoever. She grabs the carton and is about to drink from it, but she pauses and gets a cup to drink from.

She's in the same condition as before, her clothes are haphazardly put on, her hair is very messy and she has visible bags under her eyes, she seems unhappy.

She rubs her head. "Geez, I got a headache from sleeping too much..." She finally notices the food Shirou prepared. "Huh, you seemed to put a lot of effort for breakfast." Her bad mood seems to go away for now. "Prepare some for me too." She leaves to the living room, she sits down and seems to visibly relax.

"You seem to be getting lazy, Rin..." She doesn't seem to care.

"Of course, with Berserker gone all that's left is Caster, Lancer and Assassin. They are nothing compared to Berserker and with your current condition you could defeat them."

Saber doesn't seem convinced. "I'm not so sure... even if we found out Lancer's Noble Phantasm, his Master is still a mystery, Assassin is also a threat that cannot be taken out by normal attacks, and most, if not all of Caster's abilities are still hidden."

Rin still seems confident. "It doesn't matter, a normal hero pales in comparison to the Legendary **King Arthur**, the only thing holding you back was your limited prana supply, but now we don't have to worry about that. No Servant can or ever will be able to match you now." Saber doesn't speak and narrows her eyes. Shirou doesn't notice until he slowly backtracks her words.

"Tohsaka, you knew her true identity?" Shirou said.

She turns to Shirou. "Vaguely, I only had a hunch. There were signs but I couldn't put them together, and only through yesterday's actions confirmed it. Only one Servant is able to possess such a Holy Sword." She smirks. "Also you yelling out the name of your sword didn't help hide it's identity either."

Saber's face reddens slightly. Rin continues. "I'm surprised though, that the Legendary King Arthur is a girl, I would deny it completely, but living proof is in the same room as me, so all I can do is believe it. Besides, legends are usually altered, right? I don't think the people would react very well to their king being a girl in the medieval times, so of course she had to pose as a man."

Shirou scratches his head. _"Man, Tohsaka is really smart..." _

"..." Saber doesn't speak and only seems to agree with Rin's opinion. But suddenly the calm atmosphere suddenly becomes tense, he notices Saber turn to him with a very serious face, a face he's only seen when she's in battle.

"I've been meaning to ask Shirou, given our circumstances before I never got a chance to ask..." She immediately stand up. "...why did you protect, Rider?" she glares at him. His heart skips a beat.

_"Oh no..." _He can't make up an excuse now, she'll see right through it. "Um..." he's interrupted.

"I've been meaning to ask you this as well Emiya, you lied about this before so tell me the real reason, the truth!" She glares as well. Shirou slowly ever so slowly attempts to move back but feels a rise of magical energy, it's not visible but under the table Rin has a magical shot ready to use on him._  
_

"Well... you see... " he attempts to stall for time, he feels his heart begin to beat faster, sweat begins to fall down his face.

They start to get impatient with him.

"Shirou, the truth! Now!" She actually materialized her sword!

"Emiya, you better not lie or else!" Rin's arms begin to glow.

"What's with all the noise...?" A voice is heard, they all turn to see a sleepy Illya, cutely rubbing her eyes, If he wasn't so scared right now he'd be crying tears of joy.

"Illyasviel...!" Saber said, Shirou gets up and attempts to steer the conversation somewhere else and the two very scary girls glare even harder at him. He's beginning to sweat bullets.

Illya doesn't seem to notice, she grabs the sides of her dress and curtsies. "I thank you, Master of Saber. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your concern towards me, you who would take an enemy into your home." Everyone seems to pause at what she did.

"Eh...?" Shirou is surprised, this is a strange, even for Illya.

But she suddenly smiles. "Just kidding! Shirou is my Onii-chan!" She runs and jumps, hugging him around his neck. Saber is surprised and yells out in protest, Rin chokes on the milk she started drinking.

"W-What?! Let go of, Shirou!" She's still mad about before, but for some reason this seems more important.

Illya doesn't seem to care. "Hmm... a Servant shouldn't speak their minds." She puts her face really close to his. "Hey Shirou! Let's do that thing we did before, it's called a piggy-back ride, right?"

"Um..." He can't finish his reply.

"You little...! I have no obligation to listen to you! Now get away from Shirou right now!" She runs up and attempts to grab Illya, but she begins to spin using his neck as a fulcrum, she begins to twirl and twirl somehow avoiding Saber and causing Shirou to lose oxygen.

"H-Hey!-Gak!-Wait a minute!" His face is turning blue, all he's seeing is a purple and white blur pass his vision. Rin slowly wipes her mouth with her sleeve.

"Hey Shirou..." Everyone pauses, they look to Rin.

"Don't think you're off the hook, we'll continue this later, you are lucky we have more important matters to attend to." Her glare reminds him of his impending doom. He soon feels another pair of eyes hit him, he slowly turns to an angry Saber, her eyes doing all the talking. Saber also takes the opportunity to grab Illya and put her on the ground.

"Hey!" They seem to be having a stare down. "Hmmph!" Illya turns her head away. Rin continues talking.

"As for you Illyasviel, I can't forget nor forgive you for what you did to Archer." Illya's childish personality disappears.

"What? The Servant will always disappear in the end, if you focus on something like that you are not fit to be a Master, Rin." Rin tenses and she begins to get angry, sparks fly and another stare down commences, he swore he saw lighting strike behind them.

"Hey! Calm down!" They continue for a few more seconds, then they sharply turn their head away from each other. He waits a few moments then speaks again.

"Look we can figure this out later, for now we should eat, okay?" Everyone's stomachs start to growl slightly and they hurry to the table. "Itadakimasu..." Illya takes her first bite and is amazed at the food.

"Wow! This is really good!" Everyone else begin to eat, but while they eat Shirou is deep in thought. _"Damn it... I can't stall them any longer, and this won't go away, they will ask again__... just what do I do...?" _He suddenly feels someone poke his cheek, he turns to a smiling Illya.

"What are you thinking about, Shirou?" She seems happy, she's looking around the room in amazed curiosity... she's also ignoring the restless glare from Saber and Rin, he pats her head.

"Ah, it's nothing to worry about..." She pouts slightly about being pat and goes back to eating. He hears them whispering something and he only caught the last part that Saber said.

"...Yes, you and I both agree Rin, all we need to do is for Shirou to agree as well..." He feels a tug on his sleeve.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Illya asks innocently, he shrugs.

"Who knows, but knowing them I'll probably get yelled at..." He droops down slightly in his seat.

"Emiya-kun..." He hears Rin speak. "Saber and I have both agreed to give Illya to the church for protection, since she's an enemy she needs to leave." Illya turns to Shirou with emotionless eyes.

"What do you think, Shirou...?"

He answers immediately. "No, she stays here. I don't trust that... _church_ and the Grail War is still ongoing, I want to keep her safe until it's over." Her smile brightens.

"Yay! Then I'll stay here with my Onii-chan!" She grabs him and squeezes his waist tightly.

"Ow, ow! Okay! Stop being so clingy, Illya..." Shirou attempts to pry her off, but once again Saber grabs her and pulls her off.

"Hey! What's the big idea! Do you have a grudge against me or something?" She glares at Saber.

"Of course! What you did to Shirou was unforgivable!" She looks at him. "You as well, Shirou! Do you not understand the dangers of keeping someone like Illyasviel from harm? She will only cause you to get hurt or worse!"

"Hey, why do you think that? She's no longer a Master and her Servant is gone, so she can't do much. More importantly, what if she gets attacked when she's alone? Her life would be in danger and the other Masters would gain an advantage. I can't have that hanging over my head." He said.

"Uh... well, but..." She hesitates, she can't think of anything to reply with, she knows what Shirou said was true so he's not wrong.

Rin speaks up. "It doesn't work like that Emiya-kun, you see she's still a Master, and she will stay a Master until she loses her command seals, even if their Servant disappears." She sips her tea.

"So you're saying..." Shirou had a thought to what she meant.

"Yes, I'm saying that an enemy can become a Master once more as long as they can gain a Servant. More importantly they can have as many Servants as they want, as long as they have a command seal, if a Servants, Master dies and another Master found the 'stray' Servant then they can form a contract, but they would need a large amount of magical energy to do so."

"As many as they want, huh...?"

She shakes her head. "Let me rephrase that, the greatest amount of Servants a single Master can have is seven, because that's how many the Grail calls on, and besides even an excellent Master can only sustain one Servant, and even if they manage to get two or more Servants, their power will have to be shared and they will be considerably weaker, remember the more prana you give to a Servant the closer they get to being at their original strength." Illya skips to Shirou.

"That's right! So watch out for Rin, she's still a Master so she can kill you and take Saber or form another contract." Rin glares at Illya.

"I could say the same to you as well, Illyasviel..." She becomes quiet and her head hangs slightly.

"...I won't have another Servant, Berserker will be my only Servant..." She murmured quietly, but a smile quickly forms on her face. "...But if Shirou loses, then I'll take Saber and win for him, I won't let anyone else win besides Shirou."

Saber frowns. "Stop speaking nonsense. Shirou is my Master and I have no obligation to becoming your Servant."

"That's fine, I just want Shirou to win is all." Illya said.

Saber turns to Rin. "Rin! Please talk some sense into Shirou!" She's deep in thought.

"...I'm sorry, what did you ask?"

"We were getting rid of Illyasviel."

"Oh, I think it's fine for her to stay." Rin said.

"W-What?! Are you crazy, Rin?!" Saber yells.

Rin goes into a lecturing pose. "No, it wouldn't actually make a difference and the risk will still be the same, it wouldn't be any different even if we left her here, left her by herself or gave her to the church. No, it's actually better if the Servants come for her. In your current state you could easily defeat any that come here, making us one step closer to finishing the Holy Grail War, that's what you want, right Saber? Unless you think you can't defeat the other Servants?"

"Of course I could defeat them, with Shirou as my Master I will not know defeat."

"Do you understand, Saber? Protecting Illya will cause no problems. I'm surprised, the choice Emiya-kun picked may have been the smartest thing he's done." A unnoticed "Hey!" is said in the background.

"...Very well." Saber reluctantly agrees.

"Well then shall we continue ea-" The door bell rings. "That must be Sakura..." He gets up to greet her, and he feels his heart beat a little faster, he first notices how relieved she looks. "Sakura, what's wrong, you feel okay...?" She does something that takes him completely by surprise.

"Senpai!" She jumps forward and hugs him tightly, his face becomes bright red, he feels her chest squish against him. Not that he's complaining or anything, but the others might see and like always, jump to conclusions where he gets blamed...

"S-Sakura...?" He stuttered out. She finally notices what she did, her face explodes in red, and she moves back so fast she could give Rider a run for her money.

"I'm so sorry, Senpai! I wasn't paying attention and I tripped..." She lies badly, Shirou still with a red face, takes a step back and coughs into his hand.

"Don't worry about that, accidents happen..." They stand there in an awkward silence.

"Well, let's go meet everyone else, right Sakura?" She smiles. "Yes, that sounds good." They enter the kitchen.

"Did you already prepare breakfast?" She asks, she seems a little sad.

"Ah, yeah sorry about that but we could prepare dinner later, if you want?" She smiles again, the room seemed to brighten up from that.

"Yes, I'd like that." They begin to go to the dining room, but she pauses. "I almost forgot, Fujimura-sensei will be here soon." He hears the front door slam open.

"SHIROU, I'M HOME!" She immediately runs to the dinning room, and a deadly silence commences. "SHIROU! WHERE ARE YOU!" Her hurried footsteps stomp across the floor until she reaches the kitchen. "WHO IS THAT GIRL?! WHY IS IT EVERY TIME I COME HERE I FIND ANOTHER GIRL HERE, ARE YOU MAKING A PERVERTED HAREM FOR YOURSELF?!" A shinai appears in her hands, she swings her sword ready to strike his face.

"Hold it." It stops mere millimeters from his face. They turn to see an amused Rin. "Let me explain Fujimura-sensei, she's a distant relative of mine and she just came to visit and since my house is still undergoing renovations... please let her stay here for a while." She looks from Shirou to Rin, trying to find any lie so she can beat Shirou senseless, she got nothing.

Fuji-nee sighs, her shinai once again denied Shirou's blood. "Fine! You're lucky Shirou! You better not do anything to her when I'm gone!" She runs off to the living room.

Shirou sighs tiredly. "Quite a busy morning, huh?" Sakura giggles.

"Yes, let's join everyone."

Shirou and Sakura enter the dining room to hear Illya talking, she gets up and grabs the sides of her dress and curtsies. "Hello my name is Illyasviel Von Einzbern, pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you as well!" Fuji-nee's anger melts away with the cute girl in front of her. "Just call me Fuji-nee from now on!" The meal became somewhat peaceful after that.

* * *

"Remember we'll prepare dinner later so come back then, okay?" Shirou said.

"Yes, I'll see you then, goodbye Senpai." She leaves with a bright smile on her face.

"Bye, Shirou! See you later!" Fuji-nee runs out the door.

"Stay safe!" As soon as they leave he goes to the dojo and prepares for his training from Saber, Illya's there as well.

"Do you really have to train? I wanted to play with you today, but with Saber here it makes it no fun. I don't want to be here it's cold and boring." She grabs his hands.

"Let's go back to the living room, _I'll_ help you get stronger, okay?" She tries to pull him but he stays in place.

"I'm sorry but training with Saber is a daily routine, I want to become stronger and stronger to protect my loved ones, okay?" He smiles to her warmly, her face blushes slightly.

"...Fine but I'm staying here, I won't leave Shirou and Saber alone together!" She moves to a wall and sits down. "What? I'm not going to interrupt or something..."

"Well... if you get bored you can always go back to the living room." He grabs a shinai and looks at Saber. "Let's begin Saber... hey, you okay? You seem to be spacing out a bit, are you getting sick?"

"No, I'm fine let us begin..." He throws her the shinai and he traces two shinai's. Illya perks up from the magic craft, the two silently watch each other and then they begin.

Shirou deflects a strike from Saber and she easily dodges his swings. _"She's acting strange..." _He speeds up and swings both his swords at full strength and she blocks, she could have easily sidestepped that.

They continue this strange fight for a couple more hours until it's lunch time. "Phew, it's almost lunch time, right? We should stop now." He prepares some sandwiches and they all sit down._  
_

"Wow! Did Shirou make this as well? It's really good!" She said.

"Thank you, Illya." While they are silently eating Shirou speaks up. "By the way Saber, why did you hold back?"

She tenses slightly. "I don't know what you're talking about, I did not go easy on you, I always almost go all out to help you get stronger." Shirou gave a look to Saber.

"Really...?, because there were many times you could have struck me, dodged or just taken me down and it seemed you avoided them all..." Her face becomes a little red and she silently continues eating, she notices Illya has some food on her face.

"Illyasviel you will get your hair dirty if you eat that fast." She grabs a napkin and wipes her face.

"...Thank you, but why? I thought you didn't like me...?"

"That was before when I still considered you the enemy, but since Shirou has welcomed you into this home and you show no hostility, and..."

"And?" Illya said.

"...Your hair is beautiful it would be painful to see it get dirty." Her cold glare goes away and she smiles kindly.

Illya blushes slightly. "...Heh, Shirou is still mine even if you say that..."

"Shirou is still my Master and I must serve as his shield no matter what." She said calmly, the door to the dojo opens and Rin enters.

"So you were here, Shirou? Well I need your help, can you come with me?"

"Okay sure, I guess I'll see you two later, I don't know how long I'll be gone so you two can rest." Illya yawns. "Alright I'm starting to get tired, I'll see you later, Shirou." She gets up and leaves.

"Are you going now, Shirou?" Saber asked.

"Yeah, don't worry I'll see you later, okay?"

"...Alright, I will see you later..." She seems sad and leaves the dojo, Shirou scratches his head in confusion and leaves as well.

He soon ends up in Rin's room. "So why am I here, Tohsaka?"

"Do you remember when I said "I'll help you if necessary"?" Shirou remembers that night when she said that. "Yeah, so you want to help me now?"

"Yes, I'm saying I'll help you with your magic craft, but before I begin, is any of your body broken or in pain?" She asks.

"Huh...? What do you mean?"

"I'm asking if any parts are not able to move or is really hard to move?" She glares. "Don't lie and tell me if anything is like that."

"No, I'm fine besides the sore muscles and headache I feel fine now."

She looks surprised. "That can't be right, you projected a Noble Phantasm level weapon, something like that should've taken out your arms!"

"I'm telling you I'm fine. I was able to carry Illya home just fine and everything else seemed to heal, so stop worrying so much!"

"Stop lying! Give me your arm, Shirou!" She grabs his left arm and looks at it, her eyes widen in confusion than horror.

"You idiot... YOU IDIOT!" She yells. "You were lying! How could you be so calm?! How can you be okay with this?!" He swore he saw tears in her eyes.

"What...?" He's confused but he's mostly panicking._ "Did she figure it out?!"_

"How do you not know?! Almost all of your magical circuits in your left arm... are gone!" His breathing calms a bit, he still feels his heart racing. _"It must have been the Shroud..." _He looks at her calmly.

"It's fine... my magic is still as good as before, it became a shock to me at first but after some experimenting it still works fine..." As to prove it he traces a nameless sword and presents it to her._  
_

She doesn't seem convinced and takes the sword, she studies it and looks at it at every angle. She does this a couple more times until she sighs and gives it back, he just let's it fade away.

"...Fine, but you better come here often to let me check on it often, okay?!" She becomes scary again, and he nods his head quickly.

"Alright then let's begin..." She starts to talk about everything she can to Shirou about magic craft.

After they finished they went back to the living room to discuss their next course of action.

Rin speaks up. "What we should do now is deal with Caster up at the temple, from what I gathered she has just finished collecting the souls of the people she's attacked, either she's going to use that energy to begin a head-on strike or she's planning to use it for an unknown personal gain... either she's doing this herself or her Master is doing it which I highly doubt..., and even then there are two Servants at the temple, the Master either made an alliance or he managed to gain two Servants..."

"You're wrong about that, Rin." They turn to the white-haired girl. "The one who summoned Assassin was not a Master but Caster herself." Illya said.

"That's not possible! A Servant does not have the power to summon another Servant!"

Illya starts to twirl around the room. "You would be right, but who do you think the best magus is right now?"

"...Caster, of course she is still considered a magus and she probably used her abilities and power to summon Assassin."

"Remember, Caster herself is superior to all other magicians so she doesn't need a Master, she killed the Master who summoned her and secluded herself to Ryuudou Temple, her Master is all but a mere puppet right now, a normal human. She probably got him under a spell right now." Illya said.

"How terrible..." Saber said quietly. "Killing the Master who formed a pact with her, with her own two hands..."

"Of course considering Caster is Medea, the Witch of Betrayal." Illya said grimly.

"So that's who we're dealing with...? Even so if Saber fought her, she would undoubtedly win, so all we have to worry most about is Assassin."

"What do we do about Caster's Master?" Saber asked. "We can't just go to Ryuto Temple and investigate, there are too many people to consider and Assassin is guarding the entrance as well..." Saber said.

"Don't worry about Caster's Master, I think I've figured out who he is... come on, I'll explain on the way."

* * *

They soon find their way into a dark alley way and Rin is explaining to them what she found out. "So I believe Kuzuki-sensei is Caster's Master. A while back I talked to Ryuudou, he told me that Kuzuki's fiancé moved into the temple, and at the same time the mass comas started... Don't worry, if I'm wrong I'll hit him with a weakened Gandr shot and at the worst he'll be bedridden for a few days... here he comes...!"

They move into the shadows and wait until he passes, soon enough they hear footsteps and the familiar green suit shows up and his blank eyes survey the area as he moves, he continues walking until he's past the alley way. Rin immediately gets out and aims her finger, shaping her hand into a gun and aiming it at Kuzuki, the tip of her finger glows with a black ball and she fires, it gets closer and closer to his head until a black cloak deflects it.

"It was blocked?" Rin said, the fallen cloak suddenly warps and surges upward until it transformed into Caster, her purple and black robes flowing in the wind. "Spatial teleportation..." She growled.

"I though I warned you Souichirou-sama." Caster said. "You should have stayed at the temple in times like this."

"It seems fine." Kuzuki said. "The prey took the bait after all." He turns around to face them.

"Indeed." She smiles. "You can stop hiding, foolish magicians..." Shirou runs out of the alley and positions himself infront of Saber and Rin. "My how large of a catch we got, the Second Owner, Tohsaka Rin and Saber truly known as King Arthur, we've also got her cute Master as well."

"Emiya...?" Kuzuki said.

"Kuzuki-sensei, are you really being controlled by Caster?" Shirou asked.

"What do you mean by that, Emiya?" He said.

"You're a normal human so you shouldn't know what she's doing, right?"

"...She's collecting mana from the people around the temple, what she's doing is not efficient, it takes too long for her to collect a soul and sooner or later they will die from the strain, I don't care for what her magic is doing. I'm not a magus nor do I have any interest in the Holy Grail."

He takes off his glasses and his calm black-eyes bore into his. "I'm just a rotten killer..." Caster sends a magic ball of energy at Shirou, and he's ready to deflect it but Saber appears in front of him and slashes, sending it slamming into one of the buildings.

"Then it would not matter if I killed you now, Master of Caster!" She charges and readies her sword, he just watches calmly with his cold eyes. She soon slashes at him and he easily dodges, curving around the blades deadly swings, he looks on silently, waiting for the right moment. Saber jumps back and then leaps forward pointing her sword to impale him. What he does next surprises everyone, he caught the sword in between his elbow and knee.

"Impossible!" She jumps back and readies her sword.

"Caster used what she called reinforcement on my body, making my fists much stronger than usual..." He brings his fists to his side and waits for Saber to attack. Saber charges again and she swings her sword in a downward strike making him jump back, but he's ready for it. He easily bypasses her defences and attacks with lightning fast strikes, overwhelming her and causing her to stumble back, he then strikes her in the stomach, the damage passing her armor and damaging her bluntly. It causes her to fall to one knee in pain, and he takes the opportunity to strike her in the neck, Saber is able to barely dodge and his fist smashes into the ground, instantly destroying and cratering the ground.

"You dodged well... or should I say your instincts told you to move rather than your motor skills?" He appears in front of her in an instant and he strikes at her face, she dodges but his other hand comes out and grabs her neck lifting her to the air, he then throws her at speeds that causes her to slam into the wall, knocking her out for the moment.

"Saber!" Shirou saw his movements and his eyes analyzed the history, until he learned what he exactly did. **Snake**, a fighting style that keeps your arms flexible like whips while quickly moving unexpectedly, always moving at right angles in order to keep it from having a solid stance. He keeps his arms and legs locked in a firm stance while waiting for the moment to strike, he then closes in without letting the enemy react, he is able to attack without revealing any of his advancing hits. His arms extend forward and his forearms move even faster so his fingers strike at impossible speeds and strength. They come from the outside to the inside, his arms swing and change directions using his elbows as a fulcrum to strike from impossible directions. Even if he's seen through, he can easily alter the strike, to make a straight hit twist around to pass an opponents guard and strike them, then using "the body of the snake" the elbow, to deal more damage._ "A deadly style, he's good... but Kotomine's still better... question is though... could _I_ beat it...?"_

"A Masters role doesn't always have to be support, there are always exceptions, I am one of those. A Master whose only good at close range attack..." He looks to Caster "Caster, I thought I told you to kill the Masters?"_  
_

"Forgive me, but please let me deal Saber the last blow, and you deal with the Masters."

"Very well..." He turns his full attention to Rin and Shirou.

Shirou prepares himself to counteract and battle his troublesome style, but Rin appears in front of him and lifts her hand to fire a magical blast, she doesn't notice he's already in front of her and he slams his fist into her chest. "No matter how powerful or superior a magician is, if you do not allow them to cast a spell, they are useless without them..."

She falls to the ground and coughs spittle, disabled for the moment. He turns to Shirou and readies himself to kill him. Shirou calms down, his breathing slows he uses max reinforcement and he moves his arms and stance to the one style he's familiar with, Kuzuki notices this and knows to not underestimate him.

Shirou uses the 'moving stance' to appear in front of Kuzuki, at speed that should have surprised him, but all he did was easily sidestep and swing his whip-like arms to 'bite' at Shirou, he knows he can't dodge so he lifts his right arm to take the blows.

He feels his bones crack, his muscles rip apart, but he pushes past the pain and fires a deadly straight punch to Kuzuki, he deflects it and strikes at impossible angles, aiming for Shirou's vital spots, and Shirou using short-range and explosive hits to attack head-on, attempting to damage him from the inside rather than the outside.

Each of Shirou's fists are either dodged or deflected and Kuzuki's are barely deflected or he's forced to take the damage. Shirou charges and pushes his fist forward, Kuzuki dodges and Shirou's fist slams into the wall, instantly destroying it, he jumps back and they both stare at one another.

"That style... it's Bajiquan, right...?" He said, but after a though he speaks again. "No... it's too random for Bajiquan, possibly self taught?" He asks silently. Shirou stays alert, all the while he's secretly analyzing his style, to decipher it and defeat him.

"Something like that..." Shirou said. "How about I show you another style I learned..." He moves his two fists to his side, and Kuzuki eyes widen slightly, noticing the stance.

"Snake...! I see... you were somehow able to copy my fighting style..." He puts himself into the same stance. "However..." He boosts forward, ready to strike him down. "...You are 20 years too early to even think to utilize that style...!" The two deadly snakes clash, both arms are whipping around at amazing speeds, each 'biting' at each other, redirecting and moving at impossible angles, using the same deadly style for defense, also using it to predict the next strike.

But even if Shirou is about the same strength, Kuzuki is still faster and more skilled, Shirou dodges a strike and his instincts scream at him to move, he backs off and feels the wind from Kuzuki's strike glide over his head, Shirou whips his arms at angles that would be impossible to block sending them closer and closer to Kuzuki. He easily deflects the 'bites' from Shirou and punches forward, sending him flying 5 meters back. Shirou's arms begin to bleed from the damage but he still pushes on, he puts his bleeding hands back into the deadly stance.

Meanwhile Caster is slowly walking to Saber, she reaches her arm out, until Saber wakes up. "Don't think I'm out just yet, Caster!" She gets up and slashes her sword, but Caster easily dodges and glides back to Kuzuki. Saber gets up and moves next to Shirou, she notices his stance. "Shirou that's..."

Caster raises her hand. "Stop, we don't have to fight." Everyone pauses, but they stay tensed, ready to attack at a moments notice. "Lets stop this barbaric fighting, accept my proposal and let's team up?"

"You think we'll join you after everything you've done?!" Saber yells.

"Hear me out, your objective is the Holy Grail, right? Then why must we fight? I know how to call down the Grail without all this senseless killing." She said.

"You know how...?" Rin said.

"I understand how the Grail works, if you agree to cooperate with us, then I can share the Holy Grail and it's blessing's with you."

"And just how do you plan to activate the Holy Grail?" Rin demanded.

She smiles darkly. "This city already has the required amount of ley-lines, and all that's needed is a core and a massive amount of mana to sustain the Holy Grail, it's quite simple really..."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea..." Rin said calmly. "...But, how many human souls would you need to burn to obtain the mana...?" Caster smiles, an evil, rotten smile.

"All the lives in the city would suffice, but even then it wouldn't be able to keep it working, then again there are too many humans in this modern world so if the problems were to arise, there would be plenty of logs to throw on the fire, so to speak..." Shirou couldn't help it, his mind flashed to the great fire 10 years ago.

"Just one more thing..." Rin said. "The core for the Holy Grail, you would need a magus, right? Even if Servants are the ones who can touch the Grail, a Master is needed to summon it, and since your Master is not a magus, you need a substitute, right? Even if the magus burns from the overwhelming power..."

"My aren't you a smart one...? But, yes that is exactly what I need, you would suffice girl, but I doubt you would agree, luckily I already know of another magus to use..." She grabs Kuzuki's hand and they teleport away.

"Another magus...?" His eyes widen, and he turns to Rin her eyes, showing that she has the same idea. "Illya! We need to hurry!" He turns to Saber. "Go, Saber!"

She nods. "Understood!" She speeds away, he notices Rin is still hurt from Kuzuki, so he picks her up and carries her, he releases the 'Shroud' slightly and jumps into the air, steadily catching up to Saber.

"H-Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" She squeaks out, her face becomes deep red.

"There's no time to argue! We need to get there as fast as possible, before it's too late!" He runs faster, a feeling of dread going down his chest.

* * *

Meanwhile Sakura and Fuji-nee enter the Emiya Household.

"Senpai? Senpai? Are you here?" She looks around the dark house.

"Shirou! Where are you~!" They slowly walk into the home, not noticing a black cloak materializing in the shadows.

"The boundary field is gone!" Shirou heads in first, ignoring the protests from Saber and Rin. Everything is too quiet and the familiar feeling of the ancient magic is around the air. The living room is dark, he turns on the lights and sees something that makes his blood run cold. He sees Caster is holding onto Fuji-nee her hand positioned to kill her in a moments notice, he also sees Illya is being held in her other hand, unconscious and limp, but the thing that made him so angry, that makes his vision see red is a helpless Sakura, she's also unconscious and lying at the feet of Caster.

"Caster!" Saber said, she doesn't dare to move, Caster has the upper hand, having 3 hostages, she could easily cast a spell and kill Fuji-nee in an instant.

"I'm surprised you got here so fast, you were careless boy, you should have put up a better bounded field." He doesn't hear anything else, his focus is on the purple-haired girl.

"So you're going to use them as a means to escape?" Rin said.

"I could have easily left and taken them as hostages, but I guess I'm here for my own selfish means now..." She turns to Shirou.

"Why not join me, boy?" She's smiling while she's talking.

"What...?"

"You are very interesting, boy. This is the Fifth Holy Grail War, but I don't think a case like you has ever existed before. It would be easy to kill you. But you're such a valuable sample, so I would like to obtain you alive if possible. I even disobeyed my Master's orders to come here, I want you that much. Do you understand? I am doing these things because I want you to be on my side alive."

"You'd think I'll just...!"

She laughs. "You don't even need to think about it." Caster said. "No one else is able to obtain the Holy Grail besides me, you've already lost, the entire town is already mine, even Saber cannot defeat me, for I have an infinite supply of magical energy. What is your answer Emiya Shirou, will you oppose me, or obey me?" She smiles, a smile showing she has all the cards.

"Let go of Fuji-nee..." He hears her gritting her teeth slightly, she sighs to calm herself down.

"You've already lost, and you still deny me...?"

"I don't care about that, just let her go."

"That's really disappointing, I really liked you, I could have shared the Grail with you if you had cooperated."

"That stupid Grail is worthless! Causing all these lives to be lost, causing my family to get involved..." His eyes linger on Sakura. "I joined this damn war to stop people like you! That Grail has nothing to do with any of this, so let Fuji-nee go!"

Caster begins to laugh. "You say the Grail has nothing to do with this? The Grail is the very reason to why you're here! I watched you for quite some time and you interested me enough to research about you. To my delight I found some _very_ interesting things. The previous war was ten years ago, right? You lost everything from that fire. You were left alone and all you could do was wait for death waiting for the fires to eat you up, just as it did for the others, and Emiya Kiritsugu found you at that time. Take revenge on the Grail and rewrite the suffering you went through!" She smiles once again. "Do you accept my offer, Emiya Shirou?"

"Emiya..." Rin said silently, greatly shocked by this new information. He stands there silently, not moving an inch. Caster is still smiling, all she has to do is bring this boy into her grasp and everything will be perfect! Shirou looks up, his eyes full of fiery determination.

"I refuse..." He said solemnly.

"W-What? Do you not understand the position you're in boy?"

"I understand it completely, but I still have no interest in the Holy Grail! I only want it to end as fast as possible, I only continue to help Saber achieve her goal, so I refuse to accept this corrupted deal!"

"My, my... I thought you were smarter than this... I guess I no longer have a use for her, I'll just dispose of this hostage..." Her finger begins to glow, she's ready to kill off Fuji-nee, that's until a blue and silver blur speeds toward her.

"Caster!" Her sword is ready to cleave her in half. What she doesn't notice is Caster slowly bringing out a strange crooked dagger, **Rule Breaker**, she brings it down ready to obtain Saber.

Her eyes widen, she noticed too late and the dagger is about to pierce her armor, but a sudden hard shove pushes her out of the way.

"Emiya-kun!" Saber looks at Rin's horrified face, she turns back to Shirou who has the dagger stabbed deep into his chest. Even if it's not meant to be used for fighting, the crooked dagger easily pierced his shirt and stabbed into his chest. Shirou nearly yelled out in pain, the slightest movement made him want to pass out. Blood pours out of the wound, staining his white shirt. With another grunt, he pushes the surprised Caster back, her dagger ripping itself out of his chest with a large spray of blood.

But it's not over.

Red light begins to pour from the large wound and Shirou begins to scream in pain, but the wound is not the only thing glowing. His left arm suddenly begins to horribly convulse and bend at impossible angles. Small cracks of light spread across it, he begins to bleed, his mouth, nose, ears and eyes begin to gush blood. He feels as if he's being ripped apart. The cracks become bigger until his entire arm seems to explode, consuming everything in a bright light. When the light clears Shirou is on the ground with a large pool of blood under him. They notice his arm and are surprised at what they see, it is no longer his usual normal arm, but a tan and muscular one and slowly, ever so slowly a red cloth materializes and wraps around his arm, fastening itself into a tight knot.

"Th-This is not what I expected to happen..." Her surprised expression soon changed into a dark grin. "But it will work just as well..." She looks at the stunned Saber. "I no longer have a use for her, you can have her back." She throws the limp Fuji-nee like a rag-doll to the ground, she picks up Sakura and her cloak starts to flutter "If you ever want to see your Master again, come to my temple!" She begins to laugh.

"Shirou!" She runs toward the fallen boy, she desperately reaches out to grab him, but the black cloak consumes him and the echoing laughter of Caster is the last thing they hear.

* * *

Shirou is lying down in an open area, all around him are moving images, showing instances of his life, his memories. But most are shattered remains of memories, even the memory of Kiritsugu saving him from the fire, that is usually so deeply rooted into his mind, is cracked. His mind is almost gone, he no longer has any strength, his body feels numb. He feels his eyes slowly shutting. Suddenly a lone figure slowly walks to Shirou. "Hey, Dumb-ass." He kicks his leg. "Wake up." Shirou opens his eyes to the imposing figure of... Archer?!

"A-Ar...cher?"

He smirks. "Good, you still remember me. Geez you sure are stupid, do you not remember what that specific Noble Phantasm does?"

"How...?" Shirou said, his numbness gone for now.

"Hmm...?" Archer continues to look at some of the shattered memories.

"How are you still here?" He smirks again, looking back to Shirou.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"..."

He sighs slightly. "The reason is because, _I never left_. When I transferred my arm to you I also transferred part of my mind along with it. You see, I could never contact you before because I was "asleep" but every time you used my arm and called on a large amount of power, it would "jolt" me awake. It was not until you used Rho Aias on that building, I was able to make a connection between us, but not completely. That is not until you traced Caliburn and the power behind it finally "woke me up". But now since Caster used Rule Breaker on you it nearly severed our connection, making my knowledge entered your brain at an even faster rate. That's why a lot of these memories are destroyed now..." He notices that Archer is bleeding and some parts of his body are cut and his clothes are torn.

"Wait, if you said that Rule Breaker nearly severed the connection, then how am I talking to you now?" Shirou asked.

"It's because I used a lot of power and concentration to prevent the connection from severing, remember we are connected in mind, body and even partially soul. If I was a second to late, my arm's power would have killed you and more importantly me." He notices the area is starting to fade. "It's time to wake up, and you are lucky. I was able to salvage your mind and you should still be functional when you wake up, but your magical circuits are shot right now, so you might be a bit useless..." Archer begins to fade away.

"Hey, wait Archer! Archer!" Shirou reaches his arm forward but a great light blinds him, he slowly opens his eyes to a dark area, a dim green light illuminating it slightly, even if he cannot see very well, the atmosphere feels familiar. He notices he's tied together by magical energy, while he's struggling he notices his left arm and widens his eyes in surprise, he's having mixed feeling about seeing Archer's arm again. It reminds him, of the feeling of complete fear and dread, of disappearing if he took off the Shroud for too long, but it also reminds him of why he abandoned his ideals for Sakura... he attempts to use reinforcement but a very painful shock stops him, he grunts in pain.

"Oh! You're finally awake, boy?" He turns his head to the darkness, and Caster slowly walks out, Kuzuki right behind her. "I'm surprised you're even alive, when I tried to look through your mind, it was a complete mess and I could only see bits and pieces of your memories, everything else was blank, and not only that..." She gets closer and looks at his left arm.

"This strange arm, what are you hiding beneath this cloth? Every time I attempt to tamper with it..." She brings her hand forward but an electric shock makes her retract her arm quickly. "...It prevents me from getting any closer than that. Even with my abilities, it won't budge. I knew I did the right choice to pick you, you are such an interesting one..."

"Where's Sakura and Illya?" He asked.

"Oh, don't worry about them, they'll be gone soon enough, now tell me what have you got hidden under that cloth?"

"I said where are they!" He struggles in his bonds.

"My, my persistent are we? If you must know they are both up there." He looks around the underground cave and sees a large staircase leading to where they are.

"You know I was just planning to only use the Einzbern girl but to my surprise I find out the other girl is a magus as well! Her magical circuits are very good, she will sustain the Grail for quite some time..."

"Now all I need is for Saber to become my Servant and I'll have everything I need, I even severed my contract with that useless Assassin to have Saber, but you just had to interrupt..."

"So how about it? If you give me your command seals, then I might let one of them live, okay?"

"No! I won't decide who lives or dies, I will get out of here and I will stop you!" Shirou glares at her, and she's silent for a moment, until she starts to laugh.

"You still amuse me to no end... but if you won't willingly give them to me, I'll just have to force you..." She begins to shock him with magical energy, he begins to scream out in pain. "I wonder how long you'll last, boy..." A sadistic grin appears on her face.

* * *

Saber is standing alone outside, silently watching the dark sky.

"It seems Fujimura-sensei wasn't hurt, she's under an enchanted sleep right now so she won't remember anything in the morning..." Rin said.

"..." Saber doesn't talk.

"...Saber...?" Rin asks worryingly.

"...It's all my fault..." She said quietly. "If I was just a little faster, Shirou wouldn't have been...!" She grits her teeth.

"Don't worry we'll get him and everyone back..." Rin said, she's about to speak until she feels another presence behind her.

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance..." They both spin around to the purple-haired Servant.

"Rider?!" Saber materializes her sword and charges, ready to strike her down. "You are alive?!"

"Stop. I did not come here to fight..." Rider said.

"Then why are you here, Rider?!" Rin said with a glare directed at the Servant.

"I came here because my Master is in danger, and I need your assistance if I want to save her..." She said.

"Do you mean...?" Saber said.

"If you're referring to Sakura then yes, she is the one I need to save..."

"Rin, what does she mean? How is Sakura a magus?"

"...She's been hiding it... I only know because our families are the original three that formed the Grail. The Tohsaka, Matou and Einzbern... we were just acquainted every so often..." She seems like she doesn't want to talk anymore, Saber decided to drop it for now.

"If she's your Master then why did you not save her before?" Saber asks, she glares at Rider.

"...I was unable to, my wounds did not fully recover from your Noble Phantasm, I would have only caused more trouble than help, and if I tried anything, she would have killed that woman, someone Sakura cares for..." Rin sighs after a moment of thought.

"Fine..." Rin said.

"Rin...?" Saber lowers her sword.

"She can join us, and besides we are going to need all the help we can get..."

"Then let us depart quickly!" Saber yells, they begins to make their way to the temple.

* * *

"GAHHHH!" Shirou screams from the pain, foreign magical energy painfully courses throughout his body, the magic stops abruptly and he slumps down, he hears Caster laughing at his fallen form.

"You lasted much longer than I though, boy... but, I grow tired of this, I think it's time to begin the ritual..." She turns to walk away. "Souichirou-sama, if you would...?" He silently moves, walking slowly to Shirou.

"I think I'll start with that Matou girl..." Shirou's eyes open, he forces his body to move.

"IF YOU HURT HER I SWEAR-" He cannot finish as he's punched across the face, he feels his cheek bone crack, his teeth rattle in his jaw.

Caster begins to laugh. "Foolish boy..." She continues walking up the steps.

"Guh!" His chest is slammed with a lethal 'bite' he feels his ribs shatter.

"It's foolish to resist, Emiya... just give up now, and I'll grant you a painless death..." He strikes at Shirou's knee, it's instantly broken and destroyed. He strikes Shirou's arm, it snaps at an awkward angle. Shirou hears a scream in the distance.

"SAKURA!" He forcefully uses reinforcement, forcing his prana through his overworked system, he flexes his arms, bending and warping the bonds until they snap, he sends a powerful straight punch and Kuzuki jumps back, he attempts to trace his twin swords, but he's painfully shocked once again._ "Projection is useless for now..." _He looks at Kuzuki and mimics the same style.

"Let me pass, Kuzuki!" He swings his arms, sending them at Kuzuki, he deflects and 'bites' back, inflicting more damage to Shirou.

"I cannot... Caster must complete her goal and summon the Holy Grail." He easily side-steps Shirou's strikes and hits his vital spots, then he used his elbow for an additional hit. Shirou brings his fists forward and uses a short explosive burst to strike Kuzuki, he dodges the strike and charges forward and using full strength, he strikes at Shirou's temple, causing a large amount of blood to splatter to the ground, Shirou's body starts to slack and he begins to fall, Kuzuki attempts to move but he sees the boy's leg suddenly slam to the ground and hook his own from the inside.

**"Eight Grand Openings..." **He brings his fist upward.** "...Standing Upward Cannon!" **Kuzuki barely dodges the uppercut, the fist grazes his chin and his neck violently jerks back, he quickly strikes at Shirou's unprotected stomach and slides back.

_"If I hadn't dodged that..." _Blood starts to leak out of his mouth, and the two warriors silently watch, waiting for the next move, they both rush at each other and their fists clash once again.

* * *

"Quickly we're almost there!" Saber, Rin and Rider are running, speeding their way to the main entrance of the temple, they are about to reach the top, until a lone figure stand in their way.

"Assassin!" Saber readies her sword.

"I'm glad you could make it Saber, I've been waiting for you..." He draws his sword.

"Why are you down here, I thought you had to guard the entrance to the temple...?" Saber asks.

"That's what I would have been doing, if Caster didn't sever our connection, I've only got enough mana to maybe last until morning, I can already feel myself slipping..." He looks at the others. "You better hurry, she's about to start... and by the way, they entered through an underground passage-way, not through the temple, you should be able to find it if you look through the woods." He points his thumb to an area of dense forest.

"Why are you telling us this...?" Rin said.

"I have no reason to lie to you, I live on borrowed time, I have no desires, no pride as a Heroic Spirit nor do I have a wish for the Holy Grail, all I want to do now is fight, Saber." He said calmly.

"...Rin, Rider go." Saber said.

"But, Saber!" Rin yells.

"Just go! It's better for some of us to go rather than none! I'll deal with Assassin and catch up to you!" Rin hesitates but nods and they pass Assassin and enter the deep woods.

"You know I shouldn't have even been summoned, because I am not truly Sasaki Kojirou..."

"...?!" Saber is confused.

"You shouldn't be surprised, Sasaki Kojirou is a fictional swordsman, who has never existed, they say he existed, but the records on him are too vague. The 'past' of this man was falsely forged to become a famed swordsman." He looks at his sword. "There probably existed a man named Sasaki Kojirou, he probably even used the same sword, but..."

"...They are not the same person, so Assassin, you are a Fictional Heroic Spirit...?"

"Yes, I am Sasaki Kojirou, but I am also not. It just means I'm the best suited for this role, I have no name, I was not fortunate enough to get one, I was only summoned because I am able to use Sasaki Kojirou's secret technique, I am a false servant, that is why Caster treated me as disposable Servant for that reason. There is no meaning, even if I would achieve something great, it would only add to 'Sasaki Kojirou' and I will have nothing, for I am nothing. I am only an expendable Servant who acts out the role of Sasaki Kojirou..."

"Assassin..."

"...But that does not mean I cannot enjoy a battle with a superior swordsman." He knows he will die soon, yet he continues to smile on.

Saber raises her sword and the legendary swordsman clashes with the nameless swordsman.

* * *

"...Rider are you alright? There should be a bounded field around the temple that only allows Servants to enter through the front, right?"

"You don't need to worry, I only feel a small hindrance, but it is tolerable, it will be fine, all I need to do is collect mana from the air to recover." Rin nods and starts to focus on the surrounding area to find the entrance, she notices a small stream in between the dead trees, she also notices it's moving, meaning the water's coming from somewhere.

"Could it be...?" She gets closer and lights up the area, illuminating a small entrance. "This must be it, let's go Rider!" Before she enters she makes sure to leave enough magical energy for Saber to follow.

"Understood..." They slowly make their way into the cave, they soon enter an open area, dimly lit from a green glow, Rin can feel the amount of magical energy in the air, mana so strong it's nearly visible.

"We must hurry, the ritual is probably starting..." Rin and Rider run across the large cave, getting closer and closer to their destination.

Caster immediately looks up. "So they finally made it..." She looks down at Kuzuki "Master, it's time to end this..." She sends a beam of magical energy to Shirou, it's too late for him to dodge and it slams into his unprotected back, he coughs blood. Shirou can't even grunt in pain as he's shot into the air with a well placed upward punch.

Caster then sends a volley of magic beams, she made them weak enough so they would hurt, alot. He's repeatedly punched and soon shot into the ground, he's beginning to lose consciousness, until an energy shot is sent toward Caster, and multiple chains are sent to Kuzuki. Caster deflects the energy shots with ease, and Kuzuki easily strikes and blocks each chain, one chain bypasses his defense and shoots toward him, he calmly catches a spike millimeters from his face.

"Emiya-kun!" She runs up to his bloody form and notices his left arm, she can feel a familiar energy coming from it.

"...Rin...?" He looks to his left. "Rider?!"

"Hello again, Shirou."

"...Tohsaka, my magic is shot right now, I need you to deal with Caster." He looks to Rider. "Please, go and save them! I'll deal with Kuzuki..." Rider hesitates but speeds toward the stairs, Rin turns to face the strongest magus.

"Oh? Lets see how you do, girl..." Caster lifts her hand and multiple magic circles appears and blasts of energy shoot out, they get closer and closer to Rin until she raises her hand as well, sending the same magic beam, making them cancel each other out. Caster's surprised for a second until her superiour smile returns.

"I see... you came here quite prepared didn't you? You knew you couldn't have hoped to match my power so you use those gems as a boost, right?" The gems in Rin's hand crack and fall apart. Caster lifts her hand once again.

"...But, just because you managed to block one of my spells, doesn't mean you can ever hope to win!" She materializes a staff and her robes open into a type of 'wings' , she flys into the air and magical circles appear all around her. **"Rain of Light!" **Beams of A-Rank power are sent at Rin.**  
**

"Heh, don't you underestimate me!" She lifts her arm and three more gems are in her hand, she whips her hand forward and creates a magical shield to block the attack, two powerful magus's begin their battle.

* * *

Saber blocks another strike from Assassin, forcing her to move back. Even with him being weaker than before, he is still as skilled as ever. She can't do much, every attempt to pass his defenses is meet with a clash of steel. Her mind flashes to Shirou's fallen form.

_"I have to hurry or he might...!" _She runs forward, swinging her sword with all her strength, Assassin also swings his sword not at the running Saber but at the swinging sword.

"Hmm, so it finally happened...? Impressive, Saber. I thought it would be able to last a few more attacks, but it bent after one serious hit!" Their swords create sparks, both attempting to overpower the other. Assassin knows his sword won't last much longer, his sword is bent and parts are chipped so he attacks at her body instead._  
_

She jumps back and Assassin smirks, waiting for this moment. He brings his hands into the familiar stance, he turns his back to Saber and holds his sword with both hands.

"Assassin, you...!" She can't dodge, but she still tries to move.

**"Tsubame Gaeshi!"** The ultimate technique of Sasaki Kojirou is sent toward Saber, the arching blades coming from all sides. But, Saber notices something is off with the attack and she is able to move out of the way, using her superior speed.

"You're still able to dodge...? As expected from Saber..." He raises his damaged sword "There is only one thing for us to do, Saber." He said calmly.

"Assassin...?"

"From the very beginning, we are only summoned to complete our roles, to achieve the selfish goals of our master, as I was used to protect that gate, you have something you must protect as well, and remember Saber, you're not the only one who's pressed for time..."

"...I apologize, yes we do not have time." She raises her sword and the force of the wind pushed Assassin back, her holy sword is revealed. "This time it will be the end, and you will be defeated Assassin!" She readies herself to charge.

"Yes, let us..." He put himself into his stance. She rushes forward and he brings his sword down, achieving the ultimate technique, the attack comes from every side, she will die if she hesitates even for a single moment, her eyes catches the slightest difference, as small as a grain of sand, she does not care if it was real or not. She boosts forward and risks everything on her "instinct" and charges with all her might.

"...Kuh." His smile disappears, she narrowly passes through the gap under his arm, a single blind spot between his left arm and waist, once again her armor chips even as she dodged the attack, only someone with her superior skills could achieve something like this, having already experienced the demonic technique once has saved her life. But that does not mean it is over, even if she avoided the Tsubame Gaeshi the swordsman is still beside her, she charges in speeding faster than the attack. He swings his sword at lightning speed, even if it's not as fast as the technique, she could still die, but...

"Hah!" Her swing is a bit faster than his, her sword slices through his body and everything becomes quiet.

"Gu—nu." Blood erupts from his chest, and he struggles to stay up, he feels his lungs fill with blood and he closes his mouth. The knight is under him, in amazement she survived that attack. The only difference between life and death was that long sword...

The technique would have stayed invincible if his sword was not bent. His arm drops to his side.

"...Go..." Saber runs to the forest without saying another word. He looks to the sky. "I thought she was a beautiful bird, but turned out to be a proud lion. I thought I analyzed her enough..." He has a thoughtful expression on his dimming features. "Hmm... I guess I need more training in both fields.." He sits down, his elegant clothes already lost it's vibrant color, a large pool of blood growing under him. He smiles a satisfied smile.

His existence disappears with the wind. Whose to say it ever existed at all?

Saber speeds through the woods, following the traces of magic left by Rin. She soon reaches a small stream and finds an opening, she finds her self in a dimly lit area, with a dull green glow. _"This place seems familiar..." _She begins to run across through the open cave. "Please wait a little longer, Shirou!"

* * *

Shirou is fighting Kuzuki, his movements are becoming smoother and faster. Soon enough he's able to match some of Kuzuki's strikes and land some as well. But it's not enough, Shirou blocks a strike but Kuzuki redirects his hand at Shirou's neck and strikes, he feels his clavicle break, but as soon as it broke it was popped back into place with a sickening crack. How? How is he healing so fast? Just as they were about to move, they both hear a half-strangled cry of pain, Rin's elbow is buried in the middle of Caster's robes.

"You're a magus!" Caster said, her breathing coming out in pained huffs. "And you use your bare hands?!"

"Didn't you know? Even a magus needs to know self-defense!" She brings her hand back and punches forward with strength Shirou didn't know she possessed. Another crack is heard, and Caster can't breath, she let's out another agonizing groan, but Rin mercilessly attacks she kicks her to the air and opens her palm, magical energy manifesting on it. She's about to bring it forward but a steel-like hand grabs her arm.

"That's enough, Tohsaka." He said calmly, Shirou didn't even see him move, his focus was on Rin for too long. He easily flips her to the air and punches forward, Rin is able to put an arm to block the hit, but a loud crack is heard and she's sent flying straight to Shirou.

"Tohsaka!" He manages to run up and catch her, she seems to be out cold for the moment.

He helps Caster to her feet. "T-Thank you, Souichirou-sama." She stumbles but stands straight. "I apologize, Master, but it se-" She stops suddenly, and she snarled. "Please deal with them, Master! For I have another nuisance to deal with!" She grabs her robe. **"****Tροψα!" **She teleports to another area. Kuzuki looks at the empty space, he then slowly looks at the two magus's and began his attack.

"Shirou!" A sudden and relieving voice is heard and the knight appears to protect her Master. She looks at Shirou and notices his left arm. _"It's just like before..."_ She looks at the master assassin. "Please rest for now, Shirou! I will deal with him!" He doesn't have time to reply because she shoots off to face Kuzuki.

Rider finally manages to release Illya from her magical bonds, she sighs in relief and looks to her True Master, she's about to begin until Caster appears and shoots of a magical beam of energy.

"Tch!" Rider growled, only due to her extreme flexibility, she's able to flip through the air and dodge the magic beams, Rider knows she can't fight with Illya slowing her down so she retreats for now, going back to everyone else. Caster grits her teeth in anger and teleports back down.

"Shirou!" He looks up to the descending figure of Rider and much to his relief an unconscious Illya, but no Sakura.

"Rider! You're okay! But where's Sakura...?" A frown appears on her face. "I'm sorry. I had no time, Caster put up a magical barrier around both of them, I only had enough to get Illyasviel out..." Rider said.

Just as he was about to speak, Caster teleports herself back to Kuzuki. The two groups begin to stare each other down.

Sakura is alone, she's in a dark area where no light can enter._ "Where am I...?"_ She looks around in panic and begins an endless run, until she trips and falls. "Senpai, where are you...?" She's about to move again until a voice is heard, the one voice she wished to never hear again.** "You're alone, child." **She turns to the ancient and decaying figure, a man, no _thing_ that shouldn't be alive.

**Matou Zouken.**

He begins to slowly walk toward her. **"You think he'll ever love a used thing like you? Not even your sister cared enough for you, she abandoned you!" **She falls to the ground her hands covering her head to try and block out his voice. Tears falling from her face. "Stop! It's not true..." She said weakly.

** "Yes it is! Not even you can deny it! He'll spend more and more time with your sister and soon enough he'll forget all about you..." **He brings his hand forward, ready to take her over. **"You belong to me and me alone!"**

"No, No, No, NO, NO, **NOOOO!**" Her screams shake the area, black tentacles ooze out of the floor, slamming against the entire area causing the blackened darkness to crack and fall apart. **"What are you doing?!" **His voice is filled with rage but underneath that emotion is fear, complete and utter fear. The shadow tentacles continue to break the area.

Sakura slowly gets up, she easily destroys the magical barrier with a flick of her wrist. Her appearance begins to change, a black dress begins to form around her body, strips of black cloth danced around her, her natural purple hair began to fade into a purplish, pale color, her eyes became a pale bloody red, no longer caring and cheerful but psychotic and inhumane. She starts to hug herself, her body shakes uncontrollably and she lets out an ear-piercing scream. She feels the shadow ripping through her body, destroying every worm it can find.

"_S-Stop, Sakura!" _She ignores the annoying voice. _"I order you to stop!" _The shadow finally stopped after destroying every worm, the annoying pests are gone from her body. As a final insane thing to do, she digs her hand into her chest and a loud squelching sound is heard, followed by the crack of bones as she snapped her rib cage in two. She pulled out her still beating heart and crushed it, sending blood to spatter everywhere, and in her hand is the wriggling form of Zouken's true form.

"Hmm... I thought you'd be bigger..." She lifts her hand.

_ "Wait! Wait! Please, Sakura!" _His pleas are unheard, she begins to squeeze her fingers. "Goodbye, Grandfather. You must be tired from crawling around for 200 years, right? I'll put you to rest, so you can disappear now." Her fingers begin to squeeze, she hears him scream in pain.

_"NO, SAKURA! N-"_ His voice is instantly shut off. She looks at the bloody mess in her palm. She soon begins to laugh uncontrollably, the shadow begins to bleed of her body, soon forming into dark masses, she begins to draw from the massive amount of mana that's pooled here, an amount she can never hope to use in a life time. The dark figures begin to grow, growing to unimaginable heights and power. She turns around, a murderous smile stretching on her face. "I hope you're ready, Nee-san..."

* * *

The scream echo's across the cave, everything seems to stop, for Shirou he feels his heart sink, his blood run cold. _"No... please, no..." _All the remaining Servants tense and look to the top of the stairs, their battle forgotten for the moment. He even sees Saber look uneasy from the oppressive force. This can't happen again, he can't let that **_thing_ **be born.

"Something's coming..." Rin said, they look to the top and notice large figures, 7 in total, approaching. Their heights reaching to the top of the cave, their glowing 'eyes' creating an eerie light.

He sees Rin fall to her knees, the enormous pressure makes her shake in fear. "We can't win against that... the power those things are creating is enormous..." She suddenly feels a strong hand grip her shoulder, she turns to Shirou.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it..." He looks to Saber and Rider. "Please stall those two for me!" Saber immediately attempts to protest. "Please Saber! Just trust me! I need every ounce of concentration I can get!" After a seconds worth of considering, Saber reluctantly nods her head and Rider trusts him enough to listen.

"Emiya-kun, what are you...?" He grabs the red cloth and unties the knot. "Guh-G-Gah!" The pain is enormous, whatever slight resistance he built up to the foreign power is gone, as if it has reset. He falls to one knee from surprise, the circuits in his left arm begins to glow with power.

"Trace On..." He feels the sword stabbing through his body at an alarming rate.

**Durandal.**

**Harpe.**

**Gram.**

**Gungnir.**

**Caladbolg.**

**Gáe Bolg.**

**Merodach.**

He traces 7 Noble Phantasm's to meet the 7 **Shadow Giants**, he knows that by themselves they will not even put a dent to these beasts, he knows he might die but for everyone to live he must risk everything. He begins to fill the legendary weapons with every ounce of his prana. He feels his nerves ripping apart, his blood boil with the amount of hear running through his system.

Surprisingly he was able to draw from the enormous amount of mana in the area as well, the combined power easily made the weapons of old to become even stronger... but fragile and unstable. They are...

**Broken Phantasm's.**

***CRA-SHATTER* **"..." He can't remember even the simplest things now, he can't even remember the name of the girl next to him, what was it? R...R...Ri... strange, all these people are familiar but he can't remember their faces, but that doesn't matter now!

He needs to save the purple-haired girl he loves once more!

"F-Freeze out! Sword bullet full open!" The 7 swords are sent flying, the dark giant's notice too late and they are consumed in a great explosion of light. The cave shakes from the power, massive cracks appear all around the caves roof and walls. He falls to the ground, his body already shutting down, one of his eyes become blank, his mind is breaking down to a cellular level from the strain.

"E-Emiya-kun... w-what was that...?" The black haired girl said. But even then that is not enough. Many, _many_ more Shadow Giants appear, slowly making their way to everyone.

"Fascinating! That boy was able to create Noble Phantasm's to such a high degree. He becomes more and more interesting every time I see him, I wonder how many more tricks he has...?" Caster said, her voice expressing more amazement than fear.

"Don't forget about me, Caster!" Saber yells, she swings her sword but it glides through Caster, she begins to laugh and teleports away, she appears beside Kuzuki and shoots magical energy blasts to push Rider back.

"I'll let you deal with that thing..." She grits her teeth. "All that hard work destroyed by that monstrosity... it won't matter if you win or lose, let us depart Souichirou-sama..." She grabs his hand and teleports away. Saber grits her teeth, but she notices more of those beasts are approaching. She looks to Rider and they nod to each other, they run back to Shirou and Rin.

Rin helps Shirou up, the blades cut against her skin. "Get up, Emiya-kun!" He hears a muffled voice speaking.

"G—t up, E—ya-ku-!" He can't hear right, he only hears a grating noise. The voice is familiar, yet he can't remember. He looks up and notices there are too many... things to fight, even if his mind wasn't dead he wouldn't stand a chance against the infinite army. He feels another set of hands grab his body.

"S—rou!" Her voice is familiar yet distant...

"Move back, Rin!" Saber lifts her sword and the holy sword is revealed, she begins to fill the weapon with mana.

**"EX..." **She brings the sword down.

**"...CALIBUR!" **The Noble Phantasm is sent at the giants, and they are consumed by the holy light, managing to destroy a large amount, but its nothing compared to the entire army before them, they seemed to hesitate slightly, looking at the powerful Holy Sword, but soon began moving again.

"They are able to withstand an attack from my Excalibur?!" Saber yells, she's already out of energy. If she were to try that again she would surely disappear, at best be heavily weakened for the moment. "Just what is that thing...?!"

"It's... it's Sakura..." They turn to look at Rider in shock.

"What?!" Rin yells, she closes her eyes and feels the magical energy. It's tainted and corrupted but under all that is the familiar magic of her sister, her eyes shoot open in shock. "S-She's right..."

"What do we do now...?" Rider asked. "If that really is Sakura, then she's doing this willingly." She looks troubled. "We must hurry, I can feel my connection with her becoming weaker and weaker..." One of the Shadow Giants roar, causing everyone to tense and ready themselves. Shirou struggles to get up, his legs buckle under him, every step he takes causes a loud grating noise to resonate, making everyone look to him.

"Shirou! Don't move in you condition!" Saber yells to her, he slowly turns his head to her, causing blood to leak from his neck, and swords to dig themselves out.

"I'm fine... S-S...Sa...ber." SHe wanted to protest, but a small pulse from his command seal stops her, he's giving her a warning. She grits her teeth and backs down, he didn't want to do that, but she's too stubborn when it comes to his health, besides... he _needs_ to do this, or else they won't be able to live another day.

"R-R-R...in..." He remembered... he looks at her. "Rin, I know a way we can defeat those things but you have to trust me, okay?" She slowly nods, still uncertain as to how _he_ could defeat those things...

...

How long has the Shroud been off? If he attempts to trace _that _now, he will surely _die_, his body is already breaking down, most of his circuits are blown, having too much prana sent through them. He's beginning to feel doubt once again, he will disappear, but... it has to be done.

To save his friends, to save _her._..

"Trace... On." He begins the projection, and immediate pain hits him in waves. He falls to his knees. His hand immediately goes to his head, bloody red lines fall down his face from digging into his scalp so hard, trying something, _anything_ to make the pain go away. His left hand glows and flickers, every second it traces then breaks, each attempt staying longer and longer.

He feels a terrible strain on his mind and body, but he ignores everything to achieve this one... thing. He tries to trace the shape of the blade, yet his damaged mind still attempts to tell him it's not possible, how it's alien technology to him. He hears a cry of protest behind him

"Emiya-kun, stop! You'll die if you keep doing that!" He ignores her and continues pushing forward. He's finally able to see the 'sword' again and grasped the handle, he rips his hand back and collapses to the floor with a heavy thud.

"Shirou!" Saber runs up to his fallen body, she notices that Rin is only standing there in shock, her eyes set on the weapon that Shirou traced. She slowly walks up to him and gently takes the blade out of his hand. Her eyes no longer show shock but rather a deep confusion. "This can't be..." She can feel the infinite amount of mana coursing thought the blade.

"Rin." Saber said, she looks up slowly. "What is that weapon?"

"Th-This is... this is the **Jeweled Sword of Zelretch**! Something Shirou shouldn't even be able to possess...!" She's about to begin an explanation until another giant is upon them. "Rider! I'm counting on you!" She slowly nods. She looks up, ready to match the monster. A large and powerful magic circle appears in front of her.

**"Bellerophon!" **She shoots off, a burning comet bursts through the sky, speeding toward the giant.

Rin looks to Shirou then to the blade. "Saber, I'm going to confront Sakura. Protect Shirou for now." She runs up the stairs, feeling the overwhelming pressure, each step becoming more and more hesitant.

"Hello, Nee-san. I'm glad you didn't run away." At the top is no longer her sister, it is a demonic and twisted thing.

"Sakura..."

"What's wrong, Nee-san? Are you scared...?" She smiles, blood still leaks off her fingers.

"Grandfather's dead, he was a nuisance so I crushed him like the worm he was." She begins to laugh insanely. "I'm strong, stonger than anything but I'm still bound..." The air freezes, she doesn't notice she stops breathing for the moment.

"You always find a way to be a nuisance, you won't go away, you still torment me in my mind, so as long as you're alive I can't be free..." The shadow begins to rise behind her. "I'll show you the power I have, no one will save you now, you will be abandoned just as you abandoned me!" The Shadow Giants rise from the ground. "Goodbye, Nee-san."

Rin readies her sword, it begins to glow with unimaginable power. **"Es läßt frei. Werkzeug—!" **A single swing destroys all the shadows in front of her.

"It's not possible..." Sakura said, her strained voice causes even more to rise, but as soon as they rise they fall from a single swing of her sword.

"How...? How are you cutting them down?! I'm putting out a thousand times your magical power, not even you have enough power to kill a single one, so why...?"

"Can't you tell? We're in a contest of pure power, I'm just using enough magical energy to stop your magical energy, causing those things to dispel."

"It's not possible! You can't have that much magical energy, the only way is-" She looks to the sword. "I see, it's that blade, right...?" She glare at Rin.

"So you figured it out, yes it's this sword, I don't feel like explaining but it's your natural enemy. While you use those souls as your magic source, I'm using an imitation of the second magic, of my great master!" She swings the blade again, destroying the final shadow giant.

"It can never be possible! I am stronger than anyone!" She summons more giants and the battle between two sisters begin.

Shirou can't move.

He... he just can't.

Even breathing is too painful to do...

He just wants to close his eyes...

_"Get up, boy." _A voice is heard. _"I said get up. Do I have to do this every time you fall down?" _His voice is... vaguely familiar. He feels the pain go away a bit, not much, but he can finally move again, albeit slowly. _"There I took away some of the pain, but it won't last much longer so hurry up!" _Shirou struggles to get up, his movements are jerky and forced. He slowly begins his walk up the stairs.

Saber is forced to fight another army of those giants, she releases her Noble Phantasm once again, destroying them and buying her precious time. She looks at Shirou struggling to move, his body is mechanically moving, he slowly gets up. "Stop Shirou! You can't move in your condition!" He seems to ignore her, she can't move. She used too much mana. Something falls to the ground. Saber looks and sees Rider, her condition is terrible, she seems to have passed out. Who knows how many of those things she destroyed.

"Shirou!" She moves but falls to one knee, her breathing becomes heavy. He continues walking, seemingly ignoring her cries of protest.

The pain is coming back, he feels a large sword stab through his side, he stumbles, nearly falling off the stairs. A great light fills the entire cavern, his eyes are blinded but he continues to walk, his walk immediately becomes a crawl, the pain too intense for him to move. But, through willpower alone, he finally makes it up the stairs and he catches the last of a heartwarming scene.

"Sorry for being such a selfish sister..." She looks into the eyes of her sister. "I'm... I'm glad that you wore that ribbon... t-thank... you... S-Sakura..." She crumples to the ground. Sakura begins to scream, it's filled with heart-wrenching pain. She hugs her body as if she's trying to hug what's not there.

" S-S-Sak...ura..." She turns in shock, her body shaking, the shadow continues to dance around her, almost as if it's taunting him.

"Senpai..." Her mind seems to have returned. "I-I killed Nee-san! She cared about me and I killed her!" Shirou looks to Rin and sees she's still breathing, good its still the same.

"Sakura, Rin's alive." Her eyes seem to light up. "She can be saved, she's not dead so we can save her, right Sakura?" She sighs in relief, but with her concentration broken the shadow charges at Shirou.

"No! Dodge it, Senpai!" He stumbles fast enough to block Rin from the attack, it wasn't the same, it was... fiercer, more powerful than before. Like it had a grudge against him or something.

That's why it sliced his right arm completely off, the shadow soon snatched and greedily consumes his falling arm.

"No! Senpai!" Her horrified expression is enough to make Shirou continue moving, his legs feel like they are about to break any second. The shadow continues to attack, it would usually be able to rip him apart, but her screams cause them to weaken, just like before...

"Please stop Senpai! I can't suppress it anymore!" He takes another step, his mind is cracking apart, and slowly becoming... steel.

"Why do you still come, Senpai?! Take Nee-san and run away!"

He takes another step. "Please forget about me, I'll die here! I don't want you to see me like this!"

He keeps taking painful step after painful step.

"Why don't you listen to me...?!" Tears fall down her face, the shadow becomes harder and harder for her to control, each strike becoming more deadly. He finally reaches her and stumbles to her shaking body, he wraps his arm around her. The shadow rips through his chest, creating a gaping hole, which was quickly knitted back together by the infinite blades.

A small gurgle escapes his lips and blood filled his throat. He quickly spat out the blood and gives a soft, childish smile to Sakura, but the look in his eyes tells an entirely different story.

"Idiot... it's because **I love you**, Sakura." Her trembling immediately stops, her eyes open in complete and utter shock.

"E-Eh...?" His broken eyes set on hers, she watches as he smiles softly. Not caring for the blood leaking from his mouth and body, not caring for the numerous swords continuing to rip his very soul to shreds.

His only care right now... is for the purple-haired girl.

"You've suffered too much, too much for me to stay silent, that's why I'll protect you, I'll protect you from everything, I won't let you feel pain ever again..."

"Sen...pai..." The shadow weakens, slowing down enough for him to trace a certain item.

"Trace On." He whispers softly. He's surprised his lungs even work right now, he looks to his hand, and held between his fingers is the cursed dagger, **Rule Breaker**_._ He pricks her back, breaking her connection to the other side. She slowly leans forward and Shirou quickly catches her with his one arm. He clumsily lays her to the ground. Her appearance soon changes back, it was over.

He saved her once again.

"Gah!" Blood spewed out of his mouth when he violently coughed, his vision blurred and his mind blackened. He began to sway on his feet and falls toward the floor. If he wasn't so physically and mentally damaged he would have noticed a bit of the shadow crawling towards the disappearing pieces of the _**Jeweled Sword of Zelretch**_, and consuming it before disappearing as well, slithering back into Sakura's unconscious form.

...

That can't be good.

* * *

Saber slowly drew from the mana that's heavily thick in the air and recovered enough to move, she sees Rider is stirring, she slowly and painfully gets up. Saber grits her teeth. "Shirou how can you be so reckless?!" She begins to run up the stairs, she hears Rider right behind her. They reach the top in a few moments. She lets out a small gasp at what she sees.

"Shirou!" She grabs his falling form. "You idiot! Why must you do this?!" He slowly turns to her, his face showing slight surprise.

"What I had to... S-S-S...aber." He moves his stump of an arm, trying to reach for his left arm. She grimaces, she knows what to do, she grabs the cloth and slowly wraps his arm up, his face shows great relief. Rin begins to wake up, her hand going to her stomach wound. She notices everyone else is here.

"E-Emiya-kun, your arm!" He slowly looks at the stump and shrugs slowly, the swords under his skin grind loudly, making the ones present wince.

"It's just an arm... no one died so it's a small sacrifice." She recoils from his calm answer.

"What are you saying?! You'll just shrug that off just like that?!" She's about to yell at him some more, but Illya begins to stir from her sleep, she stretches her arms and rubs her eyes.

"What I miss...?" She looks around at everyone's condition. "O-Oh..." Shirou almost laughed, if it wasn't for the copious amount of blood that shot out of his mouth at that moment, this would have been a bit amusing.

"Onii-chan!" Why does everything have to get so complicated?

...

The broken group slowly begins their walk down the stairs, they walk with a calm, yet tense silences until a sudden laughter is heard. "So you managed to survive...?" They whips around to the forms of Caster and Kuzuki.

"What will you do now, Saber? You have no mana left, your Master is half-dead and no one is in fighting condition. I'll let everyone else live, if you become mine, Saber..."

A powerful voice is suddenly heard, a very, _very _powerful one.

"You are a fool... _half-breed_, learn your place." Everyone turns around to a wall of Noble Phantasm's, even in his broken state, Shirou's eyes begin to analyze every weapon that he can see, he's... seen some of these before... but where?

"It would have been fun to watch this till the end, but..." The figure reveals himself. "You said something you should have not, Caster..." He's a handsome man with golden spiky hair and wine-red eyes, he is also fully covered in beautiful golden armor, his eyes practically radiate great arrogance, the "I'm better than you at everything." stare. For one reason or another, this guy pisses Shirou off.

"Archer!" Saber growls, he ignores her and continues speaking.

"It is a large crime to say the King of Knights is yours..." He points his finger at Saber. "For that belongs to me! The one, true King!" He recrossed his arms. "For laying your hands on the King's treasure..." The Noble Phantasm's begin to tremble, ready to be sent off. "Begone, half-breed." The rain of Noble Phantasm's begin.

"Master!" Caster appears in front of Kuzuki and creates a magical shield, managing to block the volley of swords. The Golden Archer's eyebrow raises slightly, as if he's interested at Caster's pitiful attempt. His eyes linger on Caster, then slowly look to the human behind her.

A sadistic grin appears on his face. He raises his hand and three swords slowly glide down to his hand.

"Disappear!" He throws the swords, they outmaneuver her shield and speed toward Kuzuki.

"Master!" She disables her shield and uses her body to shield him. Countless swords begin to stab into her body, she screams in pain, until she feels an object block the rain of swords. Her eyes slowly flutter open and sees Kuzuki is defending her, using his body as a shield and deflecting any that pass him.

"M-Master! Stop!" She attempts to move but she's in too much pain.

The Golden Servant looks on with very slight amusement, as soon as his eyes glide to Sakura, they morph to those of disgust. "I should deal with that nuisance as well..." Half of his Noble Phantasms turn to them.

"_Disappear_, you tainted thing..." The sword begin to rain down, everything begins to slow down, he watches with static in his eys as they are about to strike them.

_ "What can I do? There are too many to block and I don't think they'll survive the devastation..."_ His hand begins to tremble with rage.

_"I guess it's time..." _He hears the familiar voice._ "A-Archer?!" _He feels his limbs begin to lose feeling. _"What the hell?!"_ His vision starts to blacken as well. _"Relax. I didn't want to do this just yet with your body in that condition, but I guess it has to be done..." _He soon falls into darkness.

"Shirou, move!" Saber yells, she runs up to his unmoving body and puts herself in front of him. The swords are getting closer and closer until she sees him raise his arm. The 7 layered shield materializes and blocks the multiple Noble Phantasms, his shield inadvertently defending Caster and Kuzuki as well.

"What?!" The voice is not from them but from the Golden Servant above. Not only that, multiple Noble Phantasms appear behind "Shirou" that match the number that the Golden Servant has. The King notices this and begins to shake in anger. "You..." even more Noble Phantasms appear behind him.

"You damn PEASANT! How dare you copy my treasures!" His anger is about to reach it's peak until he suddenly stops and he looks to the sky. "No, if I were to do _that_ now it would ruin that man's plan..." His Noble Phantasms disappear.

"Remember Saber, I'm still waiting for your answer..." His piercing red eyes glance toward "Shirou" for a bit. He turns away and disappears into a golden dust.

Kuzuki turns to Caster, his body is slowly bleeding out, a normal man would have fallen already but he wanted to see Caster one more time. "Are you alright, Master...?" Her answer is in a daze.

"Yes I am fine." He feels his lungs fill with blood, every breath he takes is slower and shorter.

"Thank goodness, I don't want you to die." She cups his face. "...It's such a shame... I... I finally found my wish..." His vision begins to blacken.

"There is no need to grieve; for I shall grant your wish..." She smiles her body already giving out.

"I think that's not possible, because my wish has... already... been... granted..." She falls to the ground, unconscious. His wounds finally catch up to him and he falls to the ground as well.

"Shirou" is standing there quietly. He puts down his arm and sighs in relief. "Phew, just in time..." His voice sounds... deeper, if that's even possible.

"Emiya-kun...?" Rin asks hesitantly.

He turns around to face them, her eyes widen in shock, Shirou's eyes are no longer large and brown but focused and grey, he blinks in surprise.

"Was I really this short...?" His wounds slowly bleed out, yet he doesn't seem to care. "Yo, Rin what's with that face?" He even has the same damn smirk! But it can't be, he can't be here!

"Ar-Archer...?" Her voice is a whisper. Illya's eyes are open in shock, noticing how his appearance and personality is way too similar,He stumbles, and blood leaks out of his nose and mouth at an alarming rate.

"So this body is already at the limit, huh...?" He's about to leave until he hears a struggling voice behind him. "E-Emi-ya..."

"Shirou" turns around. "No... whoever you are, I know I do not deserve asking this considering what we have done, but please, grant my dying wish, please take care of Caster, let her live a life without burden..." He sees the absolute desperate and pleading look in his eyes, he silently nods. Not understanding why he did so.

The last of Kuzuki's strength goes away and he lets his body drop, and for once in his life, even for a brief moment, a small smile appears on his face, a heavy burden disappeared as he dies.

"Man... I guess I have no choice now..." He glanced to the rest of them. "I guess Caster is in the boy's care now..." He mumbled to himself, his control starts to slip, he leaves the body quickly and Shirou falls to the ground with a heavy thud. _"Hmph... it seems I caused a bit more damage to the boys mind... oh well." _Archer said to himself.

...What? He could always fix it later... maybe...

"Shirou!" Saber runs up to the fallen boy, she sighs in relief. "He's only unconscious..." She looks to Caster's prone form causing her expression to freeze. She slowly unsheathed her sword from the invisible air surrounding it. Before she could finish the magical Servant off, she was once again stopped.

"Wait." The voice is from Rin. "She'll... she'll be closely watched, and Shirou promised to take care of her and besides... I don't think she'll want to do anything since Kuzuki died. We'll let Shirou decide later and besides... he has_ a lot_ of explaining to do..." Saber continued to stare coldly, meeting Rin's calm gaze before returning it to Caster. She grit her teeth before she finally relented. She finally walked toward Shirou and carefully pick up his unconscious form, with that done, they finally left the cave, leaving one of the toughest challenges they've faced.

A couple of miles away, a lone figure is watching the small group leaving the cave. He slowly put his hand to his ear.

"Hey, _Master_... it seems that the brat doesn't need my help after all..." He narrowed his eyes slightly and rested the cursed red spear on his shoulder.

"...I see. Alright, alright... what? I wasn't going to attack them now, besides... me and the boy have a score to settle." Lancer watched the unconscious red-haired boy, and he didn't know why but... something about him changed... something that pissed him off, his aura maybe? Who knows, he didn't really care for that superstitious crap...

He shrugged it off, and turned away, a small smirk appeared on his face.

_"Soon... soon we'll fight again... you better recover, Shirou Emiya, you're the only thing that's interesting in this pathetic era... well, you and that girl..."_ He frowns slightly, remembering her... magenta? Magenta-colored hair and innocent smile. Her cute and angry pout whenever he decided to tease her.

Not to mention her strength! She could surely pack a punch with those runes, she would have made a fine student...

His mood sours slightly, thinking about her...

But with a quick shake of his head he turns around and disappears into the wind, his red-eyes look at Shirou one more time as he disappears.

**Author's Notes:**

**Sorry for the very long wait, how long has it been, almost 2 weeks since I last updated? Anyway, here you go! I hope you enjoy this chapter and it doesn't sound to confusing in some parts. The next chapter will be a filler arc. Please tell me if I made things sound strange as well. Well I'll see you in the next chapter. Bye!**


	10. Chapter 10: The Truth

"Normal Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

**Disclaimer: Hey everyone! I'm not dead! Sorry for the really long wait, but I put an explanation at the bottom of the chapter, again I'm really sorry but here you go, and enjoy!**

* * *

Sakura's within a recurring dream, her mind continues to repeat a certain event that occurred.

_"Idiot... it's because **I love you**, Sakura." _Her trembling immediately stops, her eyes open in complete and utter shock.

_"E-Eh...?"_ His broken eyes set on hers, she watches as he smiles softly. Not caring for the blood leaking from his mouth and body, not caring for the numerous swords continuing to rip his very soul to shreds.

His only care right now... is for the purple-haired girl.

_"You've suffered too much, too much for me to stay silent, that's why I'll protect you, I'll protect you from everything, I won't let you feel pain ever again..." _

_"Sen...pai..."_ She feels a prick in her back and everything becomes dark.

"Senpai!" She wakes up in a dark room. Her trembling hands soon stop as she notices where she is. She hears a small yawn and another voice is heard.

"Oh, good you're awake." She turns to a very exhausted looking Rin, she probably watched over her for the entire night.

"Y-Yes, I'm okay Nee-san... where's Senpai?" Rin frowns slightly, her entire demeanor changes making Sakura fear for the worst.

"I-Is Senpai...?" Rin shakes her head.

"No don't think that, he's recovering in the other room, but... he's not in the best condition now..." Sakura's fear only worsens, she desperately tries to remember what happened and suddenly the memories begin to flood back, her eyes widen in horror.

"Let me see him!" She gets up but her vision immediately blurs and she begins to fall to the ground, Rin catches her.

"Sakura you can't move! You haven't fully recovered!" She shakes her head, desperately trying to move forward.

"Then please help me, Nee-san! I _need_ to see him!" Rin frowned slightly but she helped her sister and they slowly walk to Shirou's room. As she's about to open the door, Rin turns around and speaks up.

"Remember you have to be quiet, he needs all the rest he can get." She opens the door, Sakura's eyes widen and soon begins to tear up.

Shirou has many bandages covering his body, his breathing is erratic and his face is covered in sweat. But the worst part is his heavily bandaged right arm. " His arm...? I thought I..." She didn't want to finish that sentence.

"His arm was able to grow back due to his abnormal healing rate, but there was a... complication with the process..." Rin said. Tears begin to fall down Sakura's face.

"It's all my fault..." She whispered, Rin's eyes soften at her sister's shaking form. "If I was never here, h-he wouldn't be like this..." She feels a pair of arms circle around her.

"Stop blaming yourself, Sakura! That idiot knew what he was getting himself into. So, stop beating yourself up, okay...?" She sees Sakura calm down a bit.

"Thank you, Nee-san..." Rin nods and gets up.

"Rest up, Sakura." She silently leaves the room, giving Shirou one last glance and frowning slightly.

She leaves the room, Sakura looks at Shirou's sleeping form, she remembers his words. _"..._**I love you**_, Sakura..." _Her face becomes crimson red and she begins to fidget in embarrassment. She puts her hand on his face and his shallow breathing calms a bit. She slowly and hesitantly leans forward and kisses his cheek.

"T-Thank you, Senpai..." She gets up with an even larger blush. She looks back one more time, a yearning look on her face, she leaves the room hoping for Shirou to wake up soon.

What she doesn't notice is, that the red-haired boy beginning to stir.

Sakura enters the dining room and is immediately brought into a tight hug, she notices the familiar purple-hair. "I'm glad you're alright, Sakura. Are you sure you should be walking around? You should continue resting..." She asks with worry.

Rider's appearance has changed drastically, she no longer wears the short, skin-tight black and purple dress. She has a long sleeve black sweater and dark blue jeans. She is still wearing the purple blind-fold, but besides that she's completely normal, as a Heroic Spirit could be that is.

Sakura smiles softly. "Please don't worry about me, Rider. I'm feeling better, have faith in your Master, okay?" Rider hesitates for a moment but nods slowly, she goes back to the table. Sakura slowly sits down.

"Good evening, Saber-san, Illya-san." They both say a small hello.

"Good morning, Sakura. Are you sure you are well enough to move?" Saber asks as well.

Sakura shakes her head. "I am alright, please don't worry about me, I am feeling better, Saber-san." Saber nods her head and she turns to the Tohsaka Heir.

"Rin, has Shirou's health improved?" She frowns and shakes her head.

"No... it hasn't improved, his condition is the same as yesterday." Rin said.

Saber frowns from the answer. "I see..."

"Anyway if anyone's hungry, I'm going to prepare some food." Rin said.

"Ah, I'll help you, Nee-san." Rin shakes her head immediately.

"No Sakura, you're still recovering, I don't want you to do anything too strenuous." She continues to move.

"No, I am feeling better, Nee-san, I want to help you prepare some lunch." Rin begins to protest but notices that Sakura is being very stubborn about this, she sighs in defeat.

"Alright, you can help, Sakura..." She smiles and follows Rin to the kitchen. Meanwhile Saber and the others are having their own conversation.

"So those two really are sisters..." Saber said.

"It appears so..." Illya said, she frowns slightly and looks to the rooms, wanting to see the one person she cares for. _"Shirou..." _They sit there in a tense silence.

After a bit of time, Sakura and Rin re-enter the dining room and the table is filled with magnificent food, but with the situation no ones in the mood to eat.

Rin speaks up. "Alright, food's ready." No one moves, Rin looks around and sighs again. "Look, I know that things are... tense right now, but we shouldn't let that affect us this much! So lighten up, Shirou isn't dead and he should be waking up soon, alright...?" Everyone begins to slowly ease up, a bit of tension leaves the air.

"Well then, Itadakimasu..." While they eat, they discuss their current events. "Alright." Rin says. "Now that we calmed down a bit, we need to discuss what we saw in the cave last night..." She closes her eyes and breaths out slowly, she opens her eyes and begins.

"Alright, so while what Shirou did was... shocking, we need to discuss what happened to Sakura, and then we will discuss what happened with Shirou." She turns to her sister. "From what Illya and I found after examining her body, we discovered she was attempted to be used as a... a... **Lesser Grail**..." She shivered a bit, but continues speaking.

"It isn't surprising, that vile man had extensive knowledge of the Grail system, far greater than all other magi in the modern age, but to do such a thing!" She growls a bit. "If only I knew what that old bastard was doing sooner...!" She feels a hand grab hers.

"Nee-san, I have already forgiven you, and I want us to put that all behind us..." Rin smiles a little at her sister. She still feels the overwhelming guilt every time she looks at her, but having her sister here, smiling and laughing with her, made her at ease, if only a little bit. She gives her hand a squeeze in return.

"We also discovered that Sakura had... worms in her body as well..." Rin said.

Saber turns a little green. "Worms...?"

Rin nods. "Yes, worms, Crest Worms to be exact. They are rare but those disgusting things can be used as familiars, and only one man still or did use them." Her hands balled up into tight fists.

"Matou Zouken or Makiri Zouken once did. He is old, far older than any one person should live, he used those things to prolong his life, stealing life force from others just so he can continue walking this earth, he's probably the main reason why the Makiri bloodline died out... implanting his worms into their bodies, just so he can live a few more years... what a horrible monster..." She takes a deep breath and continues talking.

"We also discovered that some of his Crest Worm were infused within her body. But, do to the... certain events that occurred, they were completely purged from her body, only from the trace amounts of mana we found in her nerves we discovered this. From what I have to guess is that the massive amount of mana that was collecting into such a concentrated area, made the Grail within her activate a bit, mixed with Zouken's overall malice and inhuman personality, caused what we saw, but that's only a theory."

Rider speaks up suddenly. "Will any of this affect Sakura in any way?"

Rin shakes her head. "So far Sakura is in well enough condition, only slight fatigue and a headache, don't worry, she will get regular check-ups and if her condition suddenly changes, we will know." Rider seems to relax, she seems satisfied enough with that answer and goes back to staying silent.

Rin looks to the other tenants in the house. "Alright, since we got that out of the way, we need to discuss the other major problem... we need to discuss what we saw with Shirou." She slowly took out her red pendant and slowly drags her finger across it, feeling the sharp angular features of the ruby.

"We can't deny what we saw... Emiya-kun did something impossible, even for most, if not all Servant's..." She brought out a small fragment of metal from her person, as soon as she channeled her prana into it, it began to glow, a familiar aura began to pool out of the shard of metal. Her eyes hardened on the glowing shard.

"That crazy idiot was able to project _True_ Noble Phantasms..." The shard slowly began to fade away into dust. "From what he told us, his "Tracing" ability is only able to be utilized when he is actually able to "see" the Noble Phantasm in the first place." She takes a sip of tea, and soon resumes her talk.

She brings one finger up. **"Durandal: The Peerless Sword." **An image of the weapon flashes into view, a double-edged sword with a gold and black cross-guard, dark green grip and a clear orb encased in a golden pommel. "This sword possesses three great miracles that maintain sharpness and power even when the wielder runs out of prana, it is quite a powerful weapon, proven indestuctible and could possibly outclass quite a few Noble Phantasms."

She puts up another finger.** "Harpe: The Immortal Slaying Scythe." **Another image flashes. A rather long polearm with a red cloth wrapped in the middle of the staff. At the top is a hook-shaped blade. "It was used to kill and cut off the head of Medusa." A certain purple-haired woman shifts uncomfortably from hearing that weapon. "It can cause harm to even immortal beings, causing their healing abilities to become null and void."

She brings up her third and final finger.** "Gram: The Dragon Slayer." **The final image flashes, another double-edged sword, with a curved golden cross-guard, golden grip with a bit of blue at the top, and a silver tipped pommel. "It was given special dragon-slaying attributes, a very ancient and powerful holy weapon, able to burn everything away with a single swing. I would say it is quite similar to your Caliburn or Excalibur, Saber."

"These are just a few of the Noble Phantasms that he created, they are legendary weapons that have carved their mark in this world, and that idiot just had these in his back-pocket!" She screeches loudly, disbelief clear in her voice.

"Not only that, Shirou also traced something that shouldn't even be possible!" She takes another heavily needed, calming breath. "What he traced was the **Jeweled Sword of Zelretch**, that weapon has that abilities of Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon, meaning it can use the Second Magic and draw literally infinite amounts of mana, it can cut into alternate universes and take the mana from there. For example, it opened a passage to the very same spot I stood when we were in the cavern and it drew from the mana in the area. This weapon shouldn't even have been possible for him! At least the Noble Phantasms had an explanation, but the sword that he traced is not even supposed to _exist_." She takes another calming breath.

"What he traced is a copy of old man Zelretch's original dagger, the only way for him to even see it was to one, see the original dagger from the owner himself, which is 100% impossible, no one has seen that old fart for a very long time. Or two, see the blueprints that he left to Tohsaka Nagato, one of the founders of the Holy Grail." She nearly snorted at her next comment.

"Unless Shirou managed to break into my house, without me knowing by the way, and know the exact location as to where I hid the blueprints... then Shirou is a better magus than I thought. It was meant to be a long homework assignment, as the old man called it, and we still haven't been able to decode those alien prints in over a 150 years!" Her rant suddenly comes to a stop, she remembers another problem.

"Not to mention that new Servant we saw, it just doesn't make any sense! There should only be seven Servants in the Holy Grail War and this so claimed Archer comes out of no where!... that reminds me Saber, I remember him speaking to you in a familiar manner, how do you know him?" Rin asks.

Saber's eyes are closed, she seems to have trouble answering. "It is true... he is the Servant I fought in the 4th Holy Grail War, someone... someone I couldn't beat." Everyone looks to her in surprise.

"Eh? But Saber, with all your capabilities, and having a better Master than Shirou, you still couldn't beat him?" Illya asks suddenly. Saber nods silently.

"Strange... how you were able to be summoned to the same war, 10 years later..." Rin mumbles, Saber looks to her.

"I made a contract with the world to win the Holy Grail, Rin. If given the chance to be summoned once more I would immediately take it." Rin hums in response.

"I guess that makes sense... that Servant is a monster, possessing that many Noble Phantasms, I wouldn't have been very surprised that he was able to overwhelm you, Saber." Saber nod silently. "Yes, whoever he is, he must have been quite the powerful hero." Rin immediately perks up." I see...! That is the only way..." Rin says to herself.

"Rin...?" Saber asks, Rin looks back to the table.

"This guy isn't the 8th Servant, what I have to guess is that once he... defeated you Saber, he claimed the Holy Grail and from the blessings it gave, let him continue and walk on this earth." Rin sips her tea and begins to talk again. "He is an anomaly, and we need to gather more information on him later, but we need to bring our discussion back to Shirou."

Her mind flashed back to those gray-eyes staring back at her with a hint of amusement. "That persona that Emiya-kun took at that time, it could have just been something hidden in his mind, after he unlocked that power. Not to mention that strange arm he possessed... he has a lot of explaining to do once he wakes up."

A sudden crash is heard in the other room, interrupting whatever else she was about to say, they know where that came from. Everyone immediately gets up as fast as possible, hoping the noise was nothing to worry about.

* * *

Shirou's dreaming, he's in the red plain, countless swords fill the large hill he stands on, large cogwheels spin slowly and endlessly. _"Why am I here...?" _He looks around and he's alone, the only sounds that could be heard is the blowing wind.

He... he can't remember, why is this place so familiar, yet so foreign?! He clutches his head, a sharp pain causes him to shut his eyes. He suddenly feels something on his body rip open, it didn't hurt, it felt more... numb than anything else. He opens his eyes to see his right arm is consumed by swords, he blinks in confusion. He tries to flex his fingers, but he is met with heavy resistance. Shirou frowns a bit, he can't really call it an arm anymore.

"Gah!" His left arm soon follows, his back explodes into swords and blood sprays everywhere. He starts to fall, sword after sword begin to destroy his body. He screams, not in pain but in absolute fear, the blades extend and knit together, it begins to spread across his body, until it slowly consumes him from the inside out.

He slowly wakes up, his vision has specks of static, his body feels sluggish and sore. _"That was a dream, right...?" _He reaches his face and attempts to scratch his cheek. "Ouch!" He feels blood leak from a freshly made cut. He looks down to his right arm and notices a shiny tip of metal, sticking through the heavy bandages. Out of curiosity and a bit of fear, he hastily rips it off. He gasps in surprise, just like in the dream, his arm is covered in swords, he sees dried blood on some of them. It had to be a dream, Shirou poked one of the tips and he feels it prick his finger. _"Right...?"_

Shirou sighs, his wavering mood drops even lower, he slowly blinks and his vision soon blacks out, he notices he's already standing at his desk. _"Wasn't I just laying in bed?" _For some reason he's compelled to open the desk drawer.

Inside is a large ruby necklace, he picks it up and feels trace amounts of... mana inside, he feels more... relaxed when he's holding the pendant... but, why? Why does he feel like this? Why can't he remember?! _"Damn it!" _He slams his fist on the desk table, causing it to break and crack. His hand begins to bleed from gripping the ruby so tightly. He closes his eyes and growls in frustration, a voice suddenly speaks up._ "Calm down, you idiot." _A voice said.

Shirou spins around. "Who's there!" He looks all over the room, trying to find the source of the voice._ "Hmph, its worse than I thought..." _He said. Shirou feels as if he heard this man, but it's no use, he just can't remember. Shirou begins to panic, he feels alone and desperate, he slowly sinks to his knees, despair begins to drop on him.

_"You done with your little outburst yet, Emiya Shirou...?" _The voice calmly asked.

"Who are you? And what do you want?" He hears the voice sigh. _"You really can't remember anything, can you...?" _The voice goes silent for a moment. _"I didn't want to do it this way, but I guess I have no choice..." _The voice went silent after that.

Shirou becomes confused, and the silence from the man only made it worse. "Hey! What do you mean by th-" He couldn't finish because a tremendous pressure suddenly slams into his skull, he falls to the ground and writhes in pain, the pain too much for him to even scream. All he could do was lay there until the pain stopped. Slowly the horrible pressure became a dull ache, and his vision returned. Shirou struggles to move, his arms shake from the effort of just moving them, he feels blood drip from his nose.

"Damn it Archer! What the hell was that?!" Shirou yells. He waits for a response, until he hears a low chuckle. _"What do you mean, Emiya Shirou?" _He can hear how smug that bastard is. Shirou growls in annoyance. "You damn well know what you did! Now answer me, Archer!... wait... Archer...?" He whispered. "How...?" He hears Archer huff.

_"The process that I took would be too complicated and advanced for someone of your brain capacity to understand. So in layman's terms, I reset your brain and fed back some of your memories." _Archer said. Just from that one sentence, he is reminded of why he hates Archer so much.

Shirou's reminded of another glaring problem. "If you can bring them back, why only some of my memories, why not all at once?" Shirou asks, he feels the red knight speak up. _"Didn't you feel how dangerous that was? That wasn't even 1% of your memories, If I were to give even a percent more, your mind would shatter to pieces, it would be too late for even me to fix. So instead, I just gave the more important one's back, so you don't draw a blank when you see a familiar face." _He said.

"...Thanks, Archer..." Shirou said. The red knight goes silent for a moment. _"...Don't thank me just yet, Emiya Shirou, besides you should pay attention more, someone's coming." _Shirou immediatly turns around, he sends prana to his ears and reinforces them, he hears the sudden footfall getting closer and closer to his room. He quickly wraps up the bladed arm and slowly moves to the door and waits for the moment to strike. As he's about to charge out the door he hears a familiar voice.

"Ah! Illya don't move so fast!" His hand pauses at the doors handle, wait... wasn't that...? The door suddenly slides opens and a white and purple rocket flies in.

"ONII-CHAN!" He feels something very hard and somewhat soft slam into his gut.

"Oof!" He's sent flying across the room... and he hits his head on the small table, he's promptly knocked out.

Meanwhile, Illya has stars in her eyes and has a very nasty headache. "Oooowww..." She moaned. She rubs her sore head and finally notices what she caused. "Ah! Shirou! Don't die! I just got here, wake up!" She yells. The other tenants soon enter as well.

"Illya! What did you do?!" Rin asks. Illya frantically shakes Shirou.

"I didn't mean to do it! It's not my fault!" Shirou slowly, ever so slowly wakes up, he groans in discomfort, he rubs his head and opens his eyes.

"What's with all the shouting, huh?" They all look at him with mixed expressions. Saber with annoyance, Rin with anger, Illya with relief, Sakura with worry, and Rider with indifference. "What...?" Shirou said. _"Idiot..."_ Archer mumbled.

"Shirou, you are well?" Saber asks.

"Yeah I feel fine..." He forgot her name.

"Onii-chan!" She grabs him in a tight hug, too tight.

"Ow! I'm alright! Stop squeezing me so hard..." She was still a bit of a blank to him, but he should remember soon, hopefully.

"Senpai...?" He looks up to the purple-haired girl, and he feels immediate relief and happiness for some reason... suddenly he feels the tremendous pressure bore into his skull and he clutches his head and hisses in pain.

"Shirou!/Emiya-kun!/Onii-chan!/Senpai!" Multiple voices ring out, all filled with concern. He slowly looks at them with dulled sight. _"...You were struggling too much with their names, and it was getting a bit too painful to watch..."_ Shirou shakes his head, trying to rid himself of the annoying voice._ "You know I can hear everything you say, or did you forget that already?"_ Shirou sighed in annoyance. He can finally feel his senses return, and he looks to the worried faces. He smiled a bit, he decided to pull an Archer, he looked up and gave them a small smirk.

"Yo, what's with those faces?" He's immediatly struck down, a red-eyed Rin is the culprit, her fist is smoking from hitting him so hard. Archer shakes his head and chuckles lightly. _"She's still the same as always..."_

"Ah! Nee-san! You shouldn't do that to Senpai, he's still recovering!" She and Saber help a groaning Shirou get up. Saber blushes heavily she could feel Shirou's well muscled body and arms when she was helping him. Her knees almost gave out from under her, the sudden... thoughts of how Shirou looked without the bandages on his body made her almost faint.

Rin looks away with a red face, she coughs into her hand. "I-It's not my fault... that idiot, doing stupid things like that..." She said weakly._ "Especially since he looks exactly like Archer when he made that stupid smirk..."_

"Senpai, do you feel well?" He looks at her with slight confusion, then recognition, he smiles warmly.

"Yeah I feel fine Sakura, thank you for asking." Her face becomes a bit red and she smiles as well, he wanted to kiss her right now.

"That's good." Shirou gets up and immediately trips over his own feet. He feels someone catch him.

"You shouldn't lie about your condition, Shirou." He looks down and his eyes meet with Saber's emerald-green eyes. Shirou rubs the back of his head.

"Heh heh, I guess I can't get away from you, Saber." A very loud growl is heard, Shirou scratches his cheek in embarrassment. "I guess I'm a little hungry, do you want me to prepare some food?"

Rin sighs in annoyance. "Stop trying to be helpful Emiya-kun! Me and Sakura already prepared some before so hurry up and get dressed, foods getting cold." Shirou looks down and notices he isn't wearing a shirt.

"Alright, I'll hurry." She silently nods and walks out, everyone else soon leaves as well.

Shirou waits for a bit and then he quickly removes the bandages on his body. "Eh...?" He looks down and notices multiple scars of different size and shape. Some are white or pink lines across his ribs or chest, and others are angry, red gashes. He also notices some healed over burns, specifically the one centered on his chest, right next to the starburst scar. _"Where did these come from...?" _He closes his eyes._ "Hey, Archer." _He doesn't even need to explain.

_"You're wondering about the scars, right?" _He said. Shirou nods. "Yeah, shouldn't Saber's healing ability prevent me from getting scars like these? I almost got cut in half from Berserker a while back and not even a scratch appeared." He hears him hum in response.

_"Hmm... perhaps it was the Shadow's doing. From what I have to guess is that, you were not able to heal because you were not in the same __vicinity _as _Saber, and remember "All the World's Evils" is a very powerful and toxic curse, it should have melted you down, destroyed you from the inside out, but the Matou girl prevented it from doing so." _He said. _"Possibly because he didn't call out for that sheath yet, either..." _Archer thought that last bit to himself.

Shirou shrugged slightly and looked through his closet, he found his regular blue and while shirt, but decided to wear something else, it felt a little plain wearing that thing all the time. He looked around and found a black long sleeve dress shirt and black pants. He nodded to himself, this would do fine. He put on the shirt and he quickly rolled up the right sleeve, he didn't want to rip up a good shirt. After getting dressed, he went to the dining room.

"My, don't you clean up nicely, Emiya-kun." Rin said teasingly. "Don't you agree, Saber? Sakura?" She asks.

He looks to Saber and notices her cheeks are a little red. "Yes, you do look nice, Shirou."

He then looks to Sakura. "Y-Yes, I think Senpai looks... nice as well..." She stuttered out.

"Hey! What about me?!" Illya yells impatiently.

"Who cares about your opinion, you little brat!" Rin said, her voice laced with irritation. He smiles at their antics and sits down between Illya and Saber. He attempts to grab a spoon but his bandaged hand hits the table. "How is this going to work...?" He mutters to himself. Soon the pleasant atmosphere becomes serious. "Emiya-kun, we need to discu-" She stops abruptly, she soon begins to glare daggers at a certain white-haired girl.

"Say Ahhh, Onii-chan!" She has a spoonful of rice and brings it to Shirou's face.

"W-What, are you doing, Illya?!" She smiles innocently.

"Well, since you can't eat properly with that arm, I decided to feed you!" His cheeks burn in embarrassment, he hesitantly opens his mouth and she begins to feed him. Illya glances back at Rin, a smug smile plastered on her face. Rin growls and has a demonic aura surrounding her.

Shirou decides he should stop this before it gets to dangerous, specifically dangerous for him. He notices another pair of hands move to his face. He looks to Saber, a hint of red on her face. "Saber...?"

She goes silent and looks away. "...You are my Master, Shirou. It is my duty as a Servant to help in any way possible..." He had to admit, she looks pretty adorable right now. Shirou begins to laugh nervously.

Suddenly, a very large crack forms on the table, they originate from a petite hand grabbing the corner of it. They notice it's surprisingly Sakura. A black aura soon begins to pool around her, it causes everyone to tense up and...

She smiles.

Shirou immediately pales and shivers, trying to hide himself using Saber as a shield, he grabs her sides and pulls her close, causing her to squeak out from the contact. Sakura's eyes are closed and she continues to smile that sweet smile.

"I believe, that Nee-san was attempting to discuss something, it would be impolite to continue rudely ignoring her like that, _**right...?**" _Everyone quickly nods and the suffocating presence goes away. Sakura continues to eat her food, completely ignoring what just happened moments ago.

Rin clears her throat. "Uh... thank you, Sakura..." She turns her full attention to Shirou. "Now since we have the time and there are no interruptions this time." She points a finger at him. "You have a lot of explaining to do, start now Shirou!" He begins to panic, he slowly tries to move but feels a hand grab his.

"Please... no more lies, Shirou..." Saber asks sadly.

"I..." With they hate me?

"I..." Will they accept what I tell them?

"I..." Just what do I do?!

Archer sighs tiredly. _"If you're having so much trouble telling the truth, either grow a pair or let me handle this."_ Shirou sighs, what other choices does he have? _"Alright, how do you plan to do that?" _He can just feel that bastard slowly smirk._ "Like this."_ Shirou suddenly feels as if he was "kicked out" of his body, everything went black after that.

"..." Shirou doesn't move, he stays silent and his eyes are shadowed, covered by his bangs. His hand twitches every so often.

Rin begins to grow impatient. "Emiya-kun, stop stalling!" He looks up and her eyes widen in shock, once again, he is staring at her with those steel-gray eyes.

"Must you be so loud, Rin? You are acting very unladylike, not that you were very feminine in the first place, though..." Her face becomes red with anger and she quickly makes her way over to Archer and begins to kick and stomp him to the ground. A string of curses fly from her mouth, all directed at the chuckling figure on the floor. While he's getting stepped on, he notices something.

"Hmm...? Red? I though you wore white ones, Rin...?" She looks down and immediately covers her skirt.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE LOOKING?!" She stomps on his head, forcing his face to slam to the ground.

"Rin, maybe you should let him explain how this is even happening?" Saber said with confusion. After a moment of thought she removes her foot, she sits down and waits, she glares at... whoever this is on the floor.

She crosses her arms over her chest. "S-Stupid pervert..." She mutters.

Archer chuckles a bit. "Geez, still as spirited as ever..." He rubs his sore head. Meanwhile everyone is staring in shock at Shirou, his personality has changed and fits Archer's way too perfectly.

"A-Archer...? Is that really you?" Rin asks.

He looks back to her. "Who else would it be? I'm certainly not that brat." Archer said bluntly. She seems to have gained some of her confidence back.

"How are you still here? The last I saw of you was when you had to face down Berserker, and I don't recall you having any contact with Emiya-kun for you to link your minds, if that was possible..." He seems a bit confused for a moment, until he realized the problem.

"Ah, that might have been true, but the Archer that disappeared wasn't me."

"Eh?! How is that possible?!" Rin yells out.

He gives her a simple smile. "Have you forgotten, Rin? I thought you of all people would remember. We Heroic Spirits are just copies of the original soul that is forever in the Throne of Heroes, the Grail could have summoned 7 of me for each class if it wanted to." Archer said calmly.

Rin looked annoyed, as if being lectured wasn't enough. "Of course I know! It's just that this... all of this is just a lot to take in..." She said quietly.

"If you really are Archer, then explain how you are here and why you are in Shirou's body?" Saber asks coldly.

"Hmm, straight to the point, eh? Well if I have to explain, then let me take a couple steps back. You see, me and the idiot are not from this war, my best opinion of this situation is that we are either in a parallel universe or we traveled back in time, my guess is the latter. Once the boy found out he could change what had happened in his war, he has tried desperately to change the outcome." He looked to Sakura. "But, I guess that even some moments in time are so deeply rooted that it could not change..." Everyone quickly goes into shocked silence.

Saber speaks up. "You still haven't answered my question, Archer." He looks at her from the corner of his eye. "If you must know, he's fine. Archer tapped his or Shirou's forehead. "He's just knocked out for now, we switched places for the moment. He was too scared to tell you the truth, so asked me for help." He said.

She seems satisfied enough with that answer and lets Rin speak once again. "If you can continue your explain, Archer?" He closed his eyes for a moment and hummed, thinking for a solution. "...I think that it would be best for me to show you, rather than keep explaining." He looks to Illya.

"Illya, do you think you have any type of way to enter one's mind and view the memories? It would also be better of you could bring other's as well." Even with all the power and skill that Archer gained in his unnaturally long life, he still sucked at the most simple types of magic.

"Hmm... Oh! Yeah I can think of one." She walked up to Archer and put her hand on his head. He closed his eyes, feeling his presence receed back into Shirou's mind.

Magic begins to pool out of Illya, a large magical circle begins to form under her and spin rapidly, the very air begins to shake from the power. Illya starts to incant foreign words, with each chant, the power grows. She looks from the corner of her eye.

"Come on! Grab onto me or something, doing something like this is really hard! I could hurt not only myself, but Shirou as well, so come over here quickly!" Everyone quickly complied and held onto Illya, she finishes the incantation and the area explodes in light. They soon felt their mind's begin to fade and blacken.

* * *

"Where are we...?" Sakura asks quietly. It was a completely black area, their only source of light is the shattered pieces of floating glass, moving endlessly in the air. A presence makes himself known.

"You're in the brat's mind, Matou." They turn around and lo and behold, it's the red knight, he stood there with a rather bored look.

Rin noticed something about the area. "I haven't done any memory-walking mage-craft yet, but something seems... off to say the least..."

Illya had to agree. "Rin is right, the area is so-"

Archer finishes her sentence. "-Barren? Yes, you are right in your assumption, the reason... is actually partially my fault." He said.

Saber glares at him. "What do you mean, Archer?" He shrugs.

"The boy, knew exactly what he was getting himself into when he used my power. You see the power that would pour out of my remaining left arm would be too great, it would be like trying to contain a gallons worth of water and stuff it into a shot glass, what he absorbed was my memories of battle, weaponry and skill. And it all channeled to his brain." He stopped for a moment. He grabs a shard of the many floating pieces of memory.

"Every-time he took off the Shroud, it would cause all of that information to enter his brain, best-case scenario is he would have a broken body and a heavily damaged mind, and worst-case is what you see now..." He throws the shard back into the void. "He's lost nearly all his memories, only some are still here, but only just. If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have remembered any of you right now." He said.

"How?" Saber asked. Archer continues to looks into the void.

"I knew how dangerous my arm was to the boy, so once I managed to "wake up", I made copies of each and every memory in his mind. Currently I am trying to feed some of his memories back into his mind, but it's a very slow and delicate process, it might take time for him to remember even recent events, so be patient with him." Archer said finally.

"You seem to care about him, Archer." Saber asked calmly.

He snorted. "Hardly, If he were to die, I would die as well, we are linked in mind, body and soul. Of course I would worry, if anything the idiot did could endanger my life, I would take action."

She smiled at his answer. "You care..." She said knowingly.

"..." He didn't respond. Meanwhile Sakura is wandering around with Rider behind her, she notices a cracked... mirror would be the best answer, she can see a slight image moving within the mirror, but it was blurry and out-of-focus. She slowly reaches her hand out. Archer notices what she's about to do.

"Matou, I wouldn't touch that if I were you!" He tried to warn her, knowing what that specific memory is. It's too late, the entire area flashes white, slowly the scene becomes clear and they are back in the house, the only difference is that it is pitch-black outside, the white moon shining brightly in the sky.

They notice that they are in Shirou's room. Shirou is laying in his bed and Sakura slowly enters the room and they begin to talk quietly to each other. Everyone look to Archer. "Right now we are viewing a memory of his... and I think you should look away for a very specific reason." He raises his hand and the scene warped slightly, but soon returned to normal. "For some strange reason, I can't leave or stop it once it's activated." Archer said.

"Why would we lea-" Illya suddenly stops. She hears Sakura say a very specific sentence._ "P-Please Senpai... make love to me..." _She lifts her skirt, clear lines of liquid run down her legs, Shirou slowly complies and begins to move, but she quickly stops him. _"You don't have to move, Senpai... I'll make you feel good, so stay still..." _She quickly begins to lose each article of clothing, helping Shirou out of his clothes too. _"S-Sakura." _He stutters out. She softly pushes him to his back, and soon begins to lower herself onto him.

_"Ah! Ah-ahn!" _Sakura cries out, she begins to bounce up and down in a rhythmic pattern. Shirou grunts are heard every so often, he grabs her hips and starts to help her move._ "A-Ah! S-Senpai, Hm... mm...! Do you see, Senpai...? We are connected... I'm happy, Senpai... I've always wanted to do it with you, Senpai...!" _He begins to kiss her, he grabbed her breasts and gave them a light squeeze, her cries of pleasure became louder, her moans soon become muffled when he slammed his lips onto hers. Their kiss becoming more heated by the second.

Illya's face becomes red and a bit of blood leaks from her nose. "...Oh..." Not only from the very intimate scene in-front of her, but also from viewing Shirou's MASSIVE _sword_.

Sakura nearly faints. "S-Senpai and me..." Her eyes are glazed over and she's in a complete daze. She keeps repeating that one sentence, over and over. Illya waves her hand in-front of Sakura's face.

"I think you broke her." Illya said simply, not tearing her gaze from the heated scene in-front of her.

After having to endure the very long and awkward memory, the scene begins to warp back to the void of Shirou's mind. Everyone doesn't speak, for they are too embarrassed to even look each other in the eye. Well, except for Archer that is.

"Shall we get a move on?" Saber and Rin glared at the seemingly oblivious Archer, his small grin says otherwise.

Did Archer feel a little bad for Sakura? Maybe a little. He smirked, he decided to have a little fun. He waved his hand and they appear in another memory. "Whoops my hand slipped." He said, they are in an abandoned house, it has broken rubble scattered everywhere. Rin, Saber and Shirou soon enter. They notice that Shirou is carrying a flushed Saber.

The other Rin speaks._ "...Archer was the one who found this place, at least it's clean. You can put Saber on that bed, I need to get some equipment for the procedure." _They watch as she leaves, and Shirou softly puts Saber on the bed and sits down. Saber and Rin begin to have similar thoughts as to why this memory feels so familiar.

_"Shirou, you should get some rest too..."_ The Shirou in the memory looks down to Saber, and he delicately wipes some sweat off her face.

_"I'm fine, just rest for now, Tohsaka will figure this out." _She slowly closes her eyes and begins her restless sleep. They see Shirou have a troubled look on his face. He clenches his fists in anger, but he calms down and looks to the sky, watching the slow moving stars.

It suddenly hits Saber and Rin, their faces explode in red and they immediately run to Archer.

"Archer! Stop this memory, now!" She grabs Archer's cloak and shakes him. "You did this on purpose, didn't you?!" Archer looks at her with a rather bemused look.

"What ever do you mean, Rin?" He asks innocently. He quickly dematerializes when a slash from Saber's sword gets too close_. "Didn't I tell you, Rin? Once the memory starts, it can't be stopped."_ He stops talking after that.

"Hey! Archer! Come back, I know you can still hear me!" She gets no response. "That stupid good for nothing...!" Her face is flustered and she begins to say many colorful things about the red knight.

"Nee-san...?" She looked back and notices the confused looks on Sakura, she seems to have recovered from her daze. "What is wrong with this memory, Nee-san?" She looked to the scene and noticed they were still talking about the procedure.

"Sakura, listen to me, what happens next isn't my fault or Saber's, it was just called on the situation we were put in." She looks confused but slowly nods. She looks to Saber and her face heats up, she can't meet her eye. The terrified screams of Shirou bring them back to the memory.

_"WHA-WHAAAAAAAT?! H-H-H-H-Hold on, w-w-w-why are we going this way all of a sudden?!" _Shirou backpedals to the wall, his face is glowing bright red. Rin looks annoyed, but she has a very clear blush in her face.

_"This is the only way." _The other Rin said bluntly._ "With that fractured bond of yours, this will at least give Saber a boost in the morning." _They watch as Shirou is seeming to have an internal battle, his eyes keep flickering to Saber and to Rin.

_"B-But..."_ He says weakly, as if he's trying one last time to stop the inevitable.

A very flustered Saber speaks up_. "S-Shirou..." _He looks to her._ "I-It's okay..." _Saber looks away in embarrassment. Shirou seems to shut down, his movements come to a complete halt, and he doesn't seem like he's breathing. Rin grabs his hand and walks him to Saber, she pushes him onto Saber. The others already knew where this was going. Rin has a look of frustration and grabs Shirou, she then does what surprises everyone, she kisses him.

_"Mmph?!" _Shirou grunts out, they begin to have a heated make-out session, well it was mostly one-sided at the moment, Shirou was in too much shock to react.

She broke the kiss without warning. _"There's no time!"_ The other Rin said. _"We don't know when Illyasviel will barge through that door, so I'm speeding up the process..." _Her eyes set on Saber._ "It seems I must help you as well, Saber..." _They watch as Rin positions herself on Saber.

_"Wha...! Rin, what are you doing?!"_ Rin begins to get closer and closer to Saber.

_"Relax, it seems you aren't used to something like this, so I'm helping you both..." _Her mouth soon contacts with Saber's, their moans muffled by the kiss. A thin trail of saliva drips down Saber's neck. Rin begins to massage Saber's body, her hand drops down to her navel, and it slowly begins to travel down to Saber's most sensitive spot. A series of moans and crys of pleasure soon commence.

"Huh..." Illya mumbled.

"I-I told you..." Rin said quietly. "We had to do these things to prepare the tantic ritual, and since I was the only one who knew what to do, I had to speed up the process. You were chasing us down in your forest, and it was the only option that was left." She finished with a strong blush.

"Wow, I didn't know you swung that way, Rin." Illya said teasingly, completely disregarding Rin's entire explanation.

"Shut it! You brat!" Rin yells.

"Hmm..." Rider said, possibly the first noise she made while in here. "I didn't know Rin and Saber had such a close relationship..." She said, Illya burst out laughing, while Sakura began to giggle a bit, there was a hint of jealousy in her voice though.

"Not you too..." Rin moaned out. After enduring yet another awkward and personal memory, they returned to Shirou's mind.

"You still mad?" Rin immediately turns around and glares at Archer. "I take that as a yes." He begins to walk to them. "We should leave soon, I don't think his mind should continue to have itself prodded like this. I would have shown you much more important memories, memories that would explain so much more, but I need time to bring them back." He slowly disappears first and everyone else soon follows. Illya begins to speak in the foreign language and they all disappear from the void.

Everyone soon, begins to wake up. They are once again sitting around the table. "How long were we in their? It felt like hours..." Rin said.

"I'd say about 5 minutes give or take, time can either fly really fast or really slow, depending on where we are." A bit of blood began to leak from his nose. "It seems I'm about to reach the limit for possessing this body, if you ever need me again, just call." He's about to leave but Rin stops him.

"Just a moment, Archer." Rin said.

He looks to her. "Yes...?" She looks a bit troubled.

"I never got to ask you again, since you well... died and all, but who are you? I know the other Archer lied about not getting at least some of his memories back, and I don't think you're any different. So please, who are you really, Archer?"

He stops smiling, all the playfulness left his face, he became serious once more. "Are you sure you want to know? If I tell you, will you be able to handle the truth? It could very well change your views on quite a lot of things." He looks directly into her eyes. She hesitated slightly, but with strong conviction she continues.

"Yes... yes, I want to know." He sighs.

"Alright then, If you really want to know my name is-" He's interrupted.

"You're Shirou, right?" Illya said, her blood-red eyes calmly look at Archer.

"What...?" Rin whispers out, she feels light headed. Of course! How could she have not seen it sooner? Their abilities, were too similar, even with Archer's personality he seemed to still have certain quirks that matched Emiya. They even looked similar! Even if Archer had more matured features, if you changed his skin and hair, he would look exactly like Shirou!

He looks to her. "Rin, you once asked what land's Heroic Spirit I am... I guess you can say I'm this lands Hero." He turns to her and kneels down. "I never got to tell you my name, so I'll begin now." His steel-gray eyes lock onto hers.

"Heroic Spirit _EMIYA_, nice to meet you." His signature smirk ever-present on his face. Rin's shaking, she can't move, she's in too much shock. Archer turns back to Illya. "When did you figure out?" She looks down to her tea, her reflection shining within it.

"It was when I fought the other Archer, when he was on his last leg he released his trump card. His version of a** Reality Marble**... if he released that sooner, and if Rin was still there to continue giving Archer mana, then I don't think I would be here now..." This seems to shake some sense into Rin.

"Eh?! A Reality Marble?! When one brings out their own inner world, and switches the real world for their own... how do you possess one...?" Archer looks down to his hand, he slowly closes his hand making a fist.

"Years upon years of practice, Rin..." She already knows he's hiding something. She begins to think, she brings her hand up to her face, clearly troubled by something.

"If you really are Emiya-kun, how did I summon you? It couldn't have been a complete coincidence." He pauses and goes into his back pocket, he brings out the Red Pendant.

"With this." He said simply.

"Eh?" She also brings out the identical Red Pendant.

"You used that necklace to save my life all those years ago. You thought that using your strongest gem would help you summon the strongest Servant, but all you did was use that ruby as a catalyst to summon me."

He nearly stumbles to the ground and annoyed expression on his face. He attempted to move, but he almost trips over his feet. "I need to go now, if you want more answer, just ask the boy or just ask for me, I need to leave for now. I would really want to tell you more, but just wait a couple of hours and I can take control again."

He pauses for a moment, he slowly unwraps his arm and Rin and the others wince a bit from the condition. He closes his eyes and the swords slowly begin to recede back into his body. He hisses a bit from the pain.

Archer quickly wraps up the bleeding arm. "I would change those bandages soon." He looks to Saber. "Also when this is healing, Saber should be in close proximity as well." He finally leaves his body and Shirou slumps down, his eyes slowly become golden-brown again.

"Owww..." He rubs his temples. "Why does my head and arm hurt so much...?" He looks over to them. "Hey... d-did Archer explain to you guys about the circumstances?" Rin began to smile.

"Yes he did, Emiya-kun. But... we need to have a little talk about keeping secrets..." His face pales and sweat soon rolls down his face, those kind of smiles always lead to alot of pain.

"Onii-chan!" Illya suddenly comes out of nowhere, she grabs Shirou and brings him into a tight hug, she pulled his face into her nonexistent chest... it is still enough to suffocate him.

"Nee, nee! Onii-chan! I was wondering when it was going to be my turn?" He couldn't breathe, he would have asked, _"Turn for what?" _But all he could focus on was trying to catch a breather.

"Turn for what, Illya...?" Rin asks suspiciously. Illya looks at them as is they should know the answer.

"My turn to have sex with Shirou of course!" She said enthusiastically.

Saber chokes on her meal. "W-What, nonsense are you speaking, Illyasviel?!"

She begins to pout. "Well it's not fair! You, Rin and technically Sakura all got to sleep with him. Me and Rider should get a turn too!" Shirou finally manages to pry her off, his face is blue from the lack of oxygen. In his current state, Shirou can't understand or control what he says.

"M-Maybe, when your older Illya..." He pats her head slowly. Her eyes widen and she begins to have a very detailed fantasy with Shirou in bed, her cheeks become red and her nose begins to bleed, she's stuck in her own little fantasy.

The area becomes thick and heavy with death and malice. Shirou shakily turns to Rin and Sakura, their eyes are closed and they are smiling at Shirou. Saber is giving him the coldest glare he has ever seen, and even if he can't see Rider's eyes, he feels as if she's glaring at him as well. _"Run you fool!" _Archer yells. Was that... fear in his voice?

"What did you say, Emiya-kun/Senpai...?" They say in perfect unison.

"Uhh... well... you see-" He pauses, he looks at something behind them. "WHAT IS THAT?!" He points behind them. They turn and look, but nothing is there.

"Shirou, There is noth-" He is no longer there, a trail of smoke leads to the open front door. "SHIROU! GET BACK HERE!" Saber speeds ahead, quickly following behind Shirou.

"Rider!" Sakura yells. Rider gets up immediately.

"Understood!" She also speeds out the door.

Rin glares at Illya. "This is all your fault you know..." Illya, after returning from her fantasy, just continues to silently eat.

* * *

Shirou is running through Fuyuki City, he weaves across sidewalks, street corners, anywhere he could go to get away. "I'm gonna die!, I'm gonna die!, I'm gonna die!" He repeated over and over. He ran to an alleyway, trying to catch his breath. He suddenly hears very fast and rapid footsteps, he carefully looks out and notices the familiar purple-hair.

"Found you..." Shirou certainly didn't scream like a little girl when he began to run again. He looks down and notices another shadow following him, he looks up and Saber is jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

_"I'm so screwed!" _He reinforces his legs and kicks off the ground, trying desperately to get away._ "Turn left!" _Archer suddenly said. Shirou continues running forward. _"Why are you doubting me? We are the same person! I know this place better than you! Now turn right!" _Against his better judgement, he turns right... and he end up in an alley.

_"It appears I lead you to a dead end... my mistake." _Archer goes quiet. "Archer! Hey, Archer! You bastard! You did this on purpose, didn't you?!" Rider finally reaches the alley, she begins to slowly walk to Shirou, he feels like a mouse caught in a trap.

A large shadow suddenly appears above him, he nervously looks up, the cold eyes of Saber are all he can see. "There is nowhere to go, Shirou." He looks around trying to find a way out.

"Have mercy..." He whimpered out.

It's almost sunset, they have been chasing him for that long. Rider's chains are wrapped around Shirou as they drag him home. "I told you I was sorry..." He mumbles. Saber looks at him from the corner of her eye.

"You are not allowed to speak, Shirou. Your punishment will come soon." He felt a shiver go down his spine. After a bit he attempts to run again, Saber slaps him with the flat side of her sword, he did not try anything after that.

They reach the house and Shirou gets a very severe tongue-lashing from Rin, Saber and even Sakura, her's was the worst, she talked calmly and sweetly to him, saying how disappointed she was with him and such, but it felt just plain wrong, he felt like his soul was being sucked from his body. He sat in the corner, a large rain cloud hovered over his head. He has his knees up to his chest, he slowly rocked back and forth.

"Maybe you were a bit harsh, Rin..." Illya said, she shivered a bit, after witnessing such a horrific event. She felt really bad for her Onii-chan.

"He got what he deserved, you're lucky I only wanted to punish Shirou... do you have a problem with that?!" Illya immediately shakes her head. She may care for her Onii-chan, but she didn't want to face that demon in human skin right now.

They hear the front door slam open. "Shirou~! I'm here~!" A very familiar voice yells out, a voice he didn't want to hear, Shirou pales and runs to the sliding door.

"Not again! Not now!" He attempts to open the sliding door but it's too late.

"Hey, Shirou! I was won...dering... where... you... were..." She notices Sakura and another unfamiliar girl. Fuji-nee slowly closes the door, as if she doesn't believe what she saw. It suddenly slams open. "AGAIN, SHIROU?! WHY IS IT EVERY TIME I COME HERE A NEW GIRL COMES?!" A shinai magically appears in her hand.

"YOU PROBABLY HAVE ANOTHER GIRL HIDDEN IN THIS HOUSE TOO, RIGHT?!" She suddenly slumps to the ground. "I failed you Kiritsugu! Your son has become a playboy delinquent!" Anime-style tears flow from her face. She immediately gets up. "Maybe I can beat that negative side out of you!" She begins to walk to Shirou, her Tora-Shinai wanting Shirou's blood. She feels someone softly tug on her skirt.

"Um... Fujimura-sensei, this is my cousin, Rider and she... recently had eye surgery, she wanted to visit and since Senpai knew that I was having problems at home and my cousin came over, he offered us a place to stay..." She said quietly.

Fuji-nee wanted to call that a lie, but considering that Sakura is such a gentle and kind-hearted soul, she believed her. "Alright, alright..." Her shinai disappeared, it felt sad for not getting what it wants yet again.

"But! I am going to stay here from now on! So set up another guest room for me, Shirou!" She begins to walk out. "It's too late right now, but tomorrow you and I are going to have a duel! Be prepared to have your butt whooped, Shirou!" She goes to one of the guest rooms. He watches her go, his life becomes more and more complicated by the minute.

"Why me...?" Shirou groans out.

_"Because the world hates you...?"_ Archer added. Yup, it's official...

His life sucks.

**Author's Notes:**

**I know that I haven't updated in over 4 months and I want to apologize for that. It's just that there have been a lot of family problems and it caused a lot of tension in the house. I also had to do SAT studying 24/7 and looking for colleges and stuff, all of this just made me not want to write the next chapter. Every time I tried to go on the site to begin typing, I would lose immediate interest and ignore it, this continued for a long time, but don't worry! I was actually really excited to begin typing again, so don't fret, I'll try to get the next chapter in a couple of weeks. **

**On a side note, I'm not really satisfied with some of this chapter's content, but if anything sounds weird or my information is wrong just tell me. I know there wasn't really any action in this chapter and Caster didn't show up, don't worry, she will show up soon, I needed to do this chapter to set the others up. Also, should I put a warning for the lemon scenes? I feel they are pretty tame compared to some I have read. Also, for my next story I'm doing a crossover, I already have one in mind, but if you want to make any suggestions, message me. I wanted to release this chapter on January 1st, but I couldn't finish in time... Anyway, Happy New Year! And as always have a good day! Bye!**

**Just a bit of an update, I added a couple of thing to Chapter One, and if you want to check it out, go ahead! I could also be horribly wrong with the added information I put in Chapter One, and if it's wrong, please tell me. Updated on, 4/20/15. (Sorry! The next chapter will be posted soon!)**


	11. Chapter 11: (The Real One!)

"Normal Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just a reminder.**

**(Everyone please read the Author's Notes at the end of this chapter, it will explain everything.)**

**Before the next chapter begins, ****I should have done so a year ago... but I wanted to thank "souvikkundu0017" (Just search this name on google or something, copy and paste it if you want) for providing the information for _all _the Noble Phantasm's soon to be provided in my fanfic. S/he has given me a massive list of Noble Phantasm's and other weapons of old that gave the History, Grade Level, Strengths, Weaknesses and many, many other bits of really cool information. So if you want to ask him or her about it, it is really an impressive list, over 90 pages long!**

** Heh, I'm rambling now, but I just wanted to say thanks again and I hope you see this message. Anyway, on to the next chapter! Review and Enjoy!**

* * *

After sleeping for quite a while, it's once again morning time and Shirou begins to wake up. He opens his eyes and notices that Saber's separate futon is empty... and that she's snuggling up against him... again.

What's even more usual is that she has one of her arms wrapped around his waist and her other arm resting in front of her, holding his hand loosely. He couldn't help but notice how small and petite it really was.

"Shirou..." She mumbled in her sleep, unconsciously tightening her hand around his, that small gesture made him smile a bit.

She has such a calm and relaxed expression, it made him... happy to see her like this. With his free hand, he brushes a couple strands of her blonde hair off her face. For once in his life, he's too relaxed to get up so he snuggles back into the futon, unconsciously holding her close to his body. He was almost lulled back to sleep again, until a loud and energetic voice booms in the near silent house.

"SHIROU~! Are you ready to taste defeat?!" He hears the fast falling footsteps quickly stomping towards his room.

"Oh crap..." He starts to panic, he quickly gets out of Saber's embrace, much to his and unconsciously Saber's disappointment. He notices that she's still sleeping... he only hopes she will forgive him. He grabs the futon and wraps her in the small sheets. With a grimace he quickly throws her into the closet.

"Wha...? Shir-" Her voice is cut off when he slammed the closet door. He sighed, he _really _hopes she won't be mad... who's he kidding? He'll be lucky if he can get out of this with only a few broken bones. He hears rustling and grunting within the closet, quickly followed by what sounded like the sheets ripping... soon enough loud banging is heard within and it shakes the door, cracks quickly start to form, she's not even using 1% of her true strength... the closet door is ready to break and he would have to soon face a _very_ angry lion.

"Calm down, Saber!" He whispers loudly, her banging stops for now and he hears her huff.

"What is the meaning of this, Shirou?" Her muffled voice said with a cold and deathly calm tone, if she was looking at him, he would be sure that she would be glaring at him, like usual when he did something stupid.

"Fuji-nee is coming here and I don't want to explain why you were in the same bed as me!" He said, he can hear Fuji-nee grabbing the handle on the door. "She's here, just stay quiet and when the cost is clear I'll knock!" The door is being opened. "Or something...!" Shirou whispers desperately. He hears her hum in response and she doesn't speak again, the door soon slams open just as he turned to look at his older sister figure.

"Your great and awesome sister is here, Shirou!" She looks at him and gains a suspicious look. "What are you doing...?" He looks down and notices he's still leaning on the closet door.

"Nothing! Nothing!" He looks at her with his usual annoyed expression whenever she does something like this. "Anyway, do you have to be so loud, Fuji-nee? You'll wake the whole neighborhood with your overly-loud voice..." She doesn't seem to care.

"I have to be loud!" She booms, Shirou winces from the large volume of her voice, how can a single human make so much noise? "You and I are going to have our match soon! So hurry up and get dressed!" She runs out the room, but looks back. "Get ready to get your butt whooped, Shirou!" She said with excitment clear in her voice.

After she leaves and Shirou makes sure she is gone, he sighs in relief and runs a hand across his face, he turns back to the closet and knocks on it. "She's gone, Saber..." It slowly opens and she walks out, her hair is messy and her clothes are ruffled and a bit dusty, it's one of the few rare times where he can see her like this. He quickly raises his hands in an effort to calm her down.

"N-Now, Saber I can explain, Fuji-nee was coming into the room and I didn't want her to see you holding onto me in bed..." Her face heats up slightly, not that he noticed the way he said that. "...and it would cause her to go... attempt and beat my face in and, well... you know the rest..." She gives him a slight glare for a short while until she too sighs.

"Fine, Shirou, I understand how... ridiculous Taiga-san can be at times..." Shirou gives a sigh of relief, those seem to be happening a lot today, huh?

"However... after you have finished your battle with Taiga, you _will_ prepare me as much food as I desire, without any complaining... understood?" A commanding tone clear in her voice, Shirou's back straightened from her tone and he quickly nodded, he doesn't want to add to the number of reasons to piss off an already annoyed Saber.

She nods and turns to leave to the adjacent room to freshen up. Shirou quickly reaches out and grabs her shoulder.

"Wait, Saber... I don't think it'll be safe for you to sleep in this room anymore. With Fuji-nee continuously prowling around, she's bound to find out about this... so I guess the best option now would be to, well... stop." He said slowly, he felt genuinely sad having to say this to her.

He didn't really understand why he felt so sad about doing this, maybe because he wouldn't have a warm body next to him anymore? This is just too confusing for him...

"I... I see..." She said quietly, she silently turns around and slowly fixes up her hair. Huh... why is she acting like that?

With a shake of his head, he gets up and slowly gets dressed, he grabs his black dress shirt with his left hand and tries to slip on the right sleeve and... he can't move it.

"Eh?" With great difficulty he manages to raise it, but he quickly drops it back to his side. A large jolt of pain was sent crawling up his arm, it was still somewhat numb from the experience. While it was painful, it was no where near as bad as having what felt akin to a million ants crawling into the nonexistent hole where his flesh met Archer's own. It did catch him by surprise though, and he actually felt sweat roll down his brow.

"Shirou! Are you alright?" She asked with concern, she looks at his bandaged right arm. Luckily the bleeding has stopped, but it's still a good deal away from fully recovering.

"Yes, I'm fine... just a little sore is all." She doesn't look convinced in the slightest.

"Really... then lift your arm again, Shirou." He looks at her then back to his arm, with a sigh he attempts to lift it again and he watched as it struggled to inch up, with an exhale the arm drops again.

"Sorry, I guess it is a problem... let me uh, ask Archer." Her face gains a soured and she looks away in annoyance.

"Ah, yes... that man." He almost snorted, she really doesn't like him. Even if he's his twisted future self... he closed his eyes and called out to him.

_"Hey, Archer... you there, you dumb bastard?" _After a bit, Shirou hears a loud yawn in his head. _"Yes, brat I'm still here. Where else would I go, or did you and your useless brain forget?" _Shirou took a calming breath, it's too early to argue.

_"I was wondering about my right arm, it... uh, grew back thankfully but, I can barely move it without using a lot of effort." _He hears him hum. "_Hmm... let me check."_ Shirou feels his already numb right arm, lose complete feeling, after a little while Archer speaks up again.

_"...Don't worry brat, your nerves are just a bit damaged, the most severe have just been cut for the moment, probably caused when I forced the swords back under the skin, but it should heal soon. As long as you don't do anything too __strenuous the feeling and movement will return shortly..__." _Archer smirks within Shirou's head._ "I would hurry if I were you. You and I both know you never want to keep an angry Tiger waiting..." _Shirou smiled a bit and nodded to himself, much to Saber's confusion, he turns back to her. "Well this is what he said..."

...

Meanwhile, Fuji-nee sneezed and quickly gained a scary look on her face. "Someone called me Tiger..." Her eyes began to glow red. "You're dead, Shirou..."

Shirou still continued to struggle with his shirt. He soon hears a huff of annoyance and feels a pair of small hands on his back. "Honestly Shirou, you shouldn't keep trying to do things yourself." She grabs his right sleeve and helps put it through to his arm. She attempts to button up his shirt, but he quickly moves back. Much to her amusement she could see a small bit of red on his face.

"T-Thanks Saber, but I think I can manage this part." He quickly and clumsily attempts to button them. "And... there!" He tries to walk out, but Saber stops him.

"Um... Shirou." Her eyes wander down and he also carefully looks down. He notices he still has to switch his pants as well. "...Damn..."

* * *

Shirou quickly runs out of his room with a red face, he can hear Archer chuckling in his head, that bastard. He slowly walks to the dojo and to his surprise, he notices that everyone is there. They all sat on the edge of the dojo. Rin, Sakura, Rider, Illya and now Saber joins them.

He turned his head and had a very strong feeling to face-palm. Fuji-nee is standing there with her Tora-Shinai, and she's also wearing a traditional hakama, she really pulled all the stops for this one, huh...? He soon glared at the cursed sword he could just feel that damn thing "staring" at him. She rolled her shoulder and gave the shinai a few test swings, she soon rested the weapons tip on the ground.

"Did you really have to get them?" He pointed his thumb back to the others.

"Of course! They wanted to see me beat the snot out of you, Shirou!" He sweat dropped and looked to the others, they all quickly found things interesting around the dojo to look at.

Why? They knew he couldn't be defeated by Fuji-nee. He could fights Servants, for Heaven's sake!

"Um... let's just get this over with, okay?" He walked to the other side of the dojo and went to grab a shinai. He attempts to raise his right arm and he struggled to move it, he just wanted to test it after Archer's explanation.

He grits his teeth and let it drop with a sharp exhale. This didn't go unnoticed by the other occupants on the room. While not as observant, Taiga's eyes narrowed as she watched Shirou's strange movements. Saber already knew the cause, but she still worried a bit.

"Damn, it's still no good..." He mumbled, with his left hand, he quickly grabbed the shinai and rested it on his shoulder. He slowly turns back to Taiga. "Well, Fuji-nee?" She smirks, fiery determination is burning within those excited eyes.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be!" They walk to opposite sides of the dojo, their eyes lock, their movements become absolutely still.

Illya suddenly appeared and stood between them. "Ready..." She said, she raised her arm. "...Begin!" She brought it down and Taiga and Shirou charged at one another.

Shirou saw her movements in slow motion, even if she's a very powerful swordsman, she's got nothing on Saber. He easily dodges her lighting fast swings. He slashes at her with his own sword, but she blocks expertly, her arms bend from the strain. When did Shirou get so strong?! Taiga's looking on with surprise, he's better than she thought, but...

She looks down to his right arm, and she notices he's not trying to move it, it's as stiff as a board. She decided to take a chance, a chance that would probably backfire, but she had to do it!

She quickly dodged another awkward swing from Shirou, and quickly swung the cursed blade with full force at his right arm. His eyes widened in surprise as he couldn't move away in time. The shinai slammed into his arm with a loud thwack.

The others in the room flinched a bit, while Saber looked at him still with a bit of concern. Taiga immediately felt guilty and backed away, soon attempting to apologize, but as soon as she saw his face her confusion and shock only rose higher/

He stood there uninjured, his face shows not even a hint of pain. He stood ther in an awkward silence as he scratched his cheek. He looked down, and to his surprise, his right arm moves a bit, his surprise soon turned to excitement. His face stretched into a large smile, for once in this hectic morning.

_"Heh... Fuji-nee, actually helped a bit..." _He looked back and immediately tried to mask his happy expression_. _"Umm... o-ow?" He said rather lamely, laughing awkwardly at her mixed expression. _"Real smooth..."_ Archer said dryly.

_"Shut up, Archer..."_

Fuji-nee has a dumbfounded expression on her face, she continues to stare dumbly at Shirou, and he looks on with false innocence preset on his face. _"H-How...? He just shrugged off that attack like nothing! ...I guess... no... I MUST stop holding back, to even have a small chance of victory now..." _As soon as she finished her inner monologue, it's as if an invisible aura suddenly surrounded her form. She locks her stance, and her breathing slows. She slowly raises her shinai and wordlessly watches Shirou's every move.

Shirou turns back to Fuji-nee, and a small almost unnoticeable smirk appears on his face. "My turn, get ready..." He slowly begins to raise his shinai and charge, but he feels a part of his face numb and his mouth begins to move on its own. **_"...Tiger."_** He said unwillingly. He tried to cover his mouth but it continued to speak on its own. "Come on... show me what you got." He gave a hand motion for her to move.

His eyes widened in horror, immediately trying to move away from Fuji-nee.

He already knew who's responsible, who else could it be?

_"ARCHER! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" _The silence of his damn voice only made it worse. _"...Huh. I'm just as surprised as you are brat. But while I'm at it, I will enjoy this little discovery. Don't worry, I won't do anything rash... for now, this was already amusing enough... but I won't tell you when I'll do this again..." _

He feels like a lot of pain about to be brought down onto him in the near-future. He slowly looks back and notices that Fuji-nee is standing still and she's gripping her shinai so hard he can hear the wooden handle creak with protest. Her eyes are shadowed by her bangs, he could feel unnatural power flowing from her form.

...But she suddenly broke down in comedic tears. "I thought I told to you not to call me, Tiger!" Her tears are still flowing down her face as she charged at Shirou, losing all the grace and fighting capabilities she has shown, crazy like a hungry tiger... Shirou easily sidesteps her charge and quickly grabs the Tora-Shinai from her grasp, mimicking Saber's move from so long ago.

She grabs the air a couple of times and turns back to Shirou in surprise, he looks at her with a small smirk and taps her on the head with his shinai. "My win, Fuji-nee..." She looks devastated, and soon crumples to the ground in defeat. Even more tears cascade like waterfalls down her face... she's having a tantrum right now...

"No fair! Shirou cheated! Using that taboo name to distract me!" She shouted childishly. Did her feel bad for beating her down like that?

Not really... actually... no, not at all.

After years, upon years of getting smacked around by her, winning for once is a great feeling to have. He felt his stomach growl, and he quickly walked up to Taiga's prone form. "Hey... Fuji-nee, if you don't get up now, I won't make breakfast." He said softly and sweetly, she felt an unusual shiver go up her spine.

She looked up in horror for a bit, but faster than his eyes could comprehend, she's already standing.

She really is way too fast... she could give Lancer a run for his money, whenever food was involved anyway...

His eye couldn't help but twitch slightly. She was soul-crushingly sad and now she's super sun-sunshine happy... no matter how long he's known his... sister, her mood can be _really_ strange at times.

"I'm up! I'm up! ...Sooo~ you'll make breakfast now, right?" She asked pleadingly, she seems to have already forgotten her crushing defeat...

Shirou sighed tiredly. "Yes, yes..." After thinking for a bit, he decided to give Fuji-nee a break. "Tell you what, I'll make a huge breakfast of your choice. Just this once, okay?" She seems to beam even brighter with happiness.

"Really?!" She asked happily.

"Really." He confirms. She squeals in delight and grabs Shirou in a bear hug. She twirls him in the air a couple of times, then she unceremoniously dropped him to the ground. She ran out of the dojo with a happy shout of joy.

He continues to look at the empty spot she left and soon lets out a tired sigh. He stood up with a slight grunt and stretched his arms.

He turned around and saw everyone looking at him, expecting an answer. He let out a nervous laugh with their sharp gazes. "Ehe, he, he... w-well here's what happened..." He began to explain about his current situation.

* * *

"Shirou~! Hurry up with the food!" Fuji-nee yelled impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses..." He started to prepare breakfast until he heard movements behind him. He turned around to see Rin and Sakura staring at him.

"Oh! Sakura, Rin. What are you two doing here?" He asked questioningly, Rin gained a small frown, like he said something stupid, or something.

_"Yeah, or something..." _Archer muttered to himself. Once again, Shirou chose to ignore him.

"Why else would we be here, Emiya-kun? We're here to help you prepare breakfast. So, there is no use complaining, understand?!" She said with her usual anger. Any other time, he would readily agree but now... now he's used to how she is. He may not completely understand how she works, but he can at least understand some things, other things though... he shivered slightly.

"Yeah, of course. Why do you always have to threaten me, Rin? All you need to do is ask nicely..." Before he could say another word, his vision was immediately cut off, he felt his mouth move again, of course without his consent. He felt sluggish and tired, like someone was trying too...

He immediately knew what was going to happen, so he tried to run out the kitchen. His arms lost complete feeling and they soon latched onto the kitchen counter in a vice-grip. He could almost hear the completely amused chuckling within his head. His head jerkily turned to Rin, she gave a confused and annoyed expression, from watching Emiya do... whatever he's doing.

"Well...?" His deeper voice caught Rin and Sakura by surprise. What came next though... "What are you waiting for?" He said strictly, when it came to the kitchen, he does not... _will not_ play around. He may have only recently begun cooking again or even acting like this for that matter.

But... not to brag, but he's pretty sure his cooking is still on an entirely different level anyone in this house, his skill hasn't tarnished at all thankfully, maybe it ties to his abilities as a Heroic Spirit?

Who knows. It's certainly better than the brat he has to share a body with.

On another note... he didn't know why, but whenever he would do simple things like this, examples like teasing Rin, or cleaning her house, or cooking her food made him feel... human again.

Strange...

His musing ceased as he returned his gaze to Rin. "I don't want any amateurs in _my _kitchen. _Especially_ a controlling..."

Rin twitched, nearly dropping the plate in her hand.

"...bipolar..."

She twitched again, snapping the plate in two.

"...trigger happy..."

She started to grip it even harder, spider web cracks began to form on the remaining pieces of plate.

"...tsun~de~re...?"

Rin's fingers dug into the remaining pieces, instantly shattering them to dust, she probably used a bit of reinforcement for that simple task.

"So hurry up and let us begin..." He paused and spoke again, a devilish smirk on his face. "...**Rin-chan~**_..._" Archer said while getting closer to her face.

Rin's twitching returned full force and an angry red aura surrounded her form. He could hear her teeth grinding against each other, threatening to break apart.

Archer's controlled mouth stretched into an even bigger smirk before returning to Shirou's own horrified expression. He tried to slowly leave the kitchen, but he noticed that his left hand is still latched to the counter. With the situation he's in right now, he's tempted to cut off his arm and run away as fast as possible.

_"I'll get you for this, Archer! Just you wait!" _He thought loudly. He heard loud, completely amused chuckle within his head. _"Heh... I'll be waiting, Emiya Brat. I will look forward to see what you can come up with. Anyway, don't you think that talking with me is less important than what's happening with a certain Black-Haired Witch?" _He said matter-of-factly. Shirou froze in place and carefully turned around... he's met with the coldest glare she has ever given him.

"N-N-N-Now, T-T-T-Tohs-s-s-ska..." Shirou stuttered, he raised his arms to at least attempt to calm her down. He felt that calling her by her first name would only make things worse.

She raised her arm, stopping him for saying anything else. His mouth shut with an audible click. She closes her eyes, taking a few deep, calming breaths. After a few agonizing minutes, which felt like an eternity for Shirou, she returned her gaze to Shirou's cowering form.

"Emiya-kun, just... just don't. I don't care about what just happened. Even if I _really_ want to **kill** you right now..." She took a long and collective sigh, slowly lowering her glowing arm.

"It's just _too_ early for this. I don't care for what you said. For now. Or if was even you in the first place. Just shut up about it, and we can put this idiotic coversation behind us... agreed?" Rin said calmly, too calmly.

But, Shirou didn't care. This kind of outcome is a Godsend! Considering what that bastard, Archer put him in. To his horror, yet again, he felt Archer trying to switch places between them.

He could only hope this works.

With a significant amount of concentration, he tried to... not shut off, but merely suppress his magic circuits. Almost like the time when he had to imagine the Shroud for his arm, only the opposite. When he felt the energy within his body lessen, he felt Archer go away for the time being, he felt like he only let him do that...

With a great sigh of relief, he quickly turned back to Rin and Sakura, and gave Rin a small nod, signaling her to grace him with a small smile in return.

"Well... let's begin you two..." Shirou said.

"Of course, Emiya-kun." She sharply turned away from Shirou.

"Yes, Senpai..." He smiled warmly to her and soon turned back to the kitchen as well. They all soon began to have a rather peaceful, and amusing/hectic time cooking.

* * *

"Well, Fuji-nee... breakfast is served!" Shirou said proudly. The combined skill between Rin, Sakura, and Shirou, has allowed them to create a massive banquet, easily on par with any 5-Star restaurant, if he says so himself.

He silently turned to Saber. "Just tell me when you want more food, okay Saber?" She smiles softly and gives him a small nod in return, not noticing the jealous glares from the rest of the table.

Except for Fuji-nee, and maybe Rider, you really couldn't tell with her blindfold in place, even without it, it would probably still be hard to tell...

"Wooowww! You've really outdone yourself this time, Shirou!" Without another word to anyone else, and a hastily said. "Itadakimasu!" Fuji-nee began to consume everything in sight.

Geez, she could easily be on par with Saber's gluttony... not that he would ever say that to her face.

Illya's attempts at getting any food, were stopped immediately from Fuji-nee. Knowingly or unknowingly, who knows, he suspiciously feels the former. She gave a small pout, and he swore he heard a light grumble coming from her stomach.

With a slight bit of reinforcement in his eyes and arms, Shirou grabbed the nearest plate and loaded it with some of the items present on the table. He gave a sincere smile and handed the plate to Illya.

A bit of red made itself present on her face as she accepted the plate. Which Shirou didn't notice. He also didn't notice the slightly angry, and jealous look, radiating off of Rin.

Sakura, was luckily blocked by Rider, so she didn't add to the damage that would be brought down on Shirou. But, the black aura coming off of her body didn't make her as clueless as it seems...

He felt that he should he careful with how he acts now. He doesn't understand, what is he doing to make them so angry? He's just trying to be helpful is all...

Saber didn't notice, nor did Rider for that chance, for she is far too distracted by the large amount of foreign, but impressive amount of food in front of her. Soon enough, Rider's blindfolded "eyes" and Saber's met. They didn't move even an inch for a couple of seconds.

The massacre began. The horrible, _horrible_ massacre...

Saber, and Rider began to devour everything present on the table. Shirou felt extremely hesitant toward putting his fingers anywhere near them. Their speed's toward the massive amounts of food made the large piles appear as if they were dissolving. Shirou sweat-dropped. "...Maybe I should have made more, huh...?" He said to no one in particular.

He turned his attention back to Fuji-nee, who finally seemed to calm down from her frenzy. "So, Fuji-nee. How are things with school?" He asked curiously for once. After his short battle against Rider, and that rotting garbage Shinji, they caused considerable amounts of damage to the school, who knows how long it will take for it to be repaired.

"It's soooooo booorrriiinnnggg!" She drawled out. "After the mysterious vandalizing to the school,_ I _have to stay for "important" meetings and stuff, talking about the school having to reopen in a couple of months, Kuzuki-san's strange disappearance and blah, blah, blah... it's all just a pain in the butt!" She yelled childishly.

"I-Is that so..." Shirou said, he almost tensed up when she mentioned Kuzuki...

_"...No... whoever you are, I know I do not deserve asking this considering what we have done, but please, grant my dying wish, please take care of Caster, let her live a life without burden..." _He shook his head from the acquired memory and soon focused on what was happening now.

"Hmm...?" He noticed something strange. "Hey, Fuji-nee... aren't you late for one of those meetings now?" Shirou asked. Fuji-nee's eyes widened in surprise and she also looked at the clock.

"Oh crap, thanks for reminding me, Shirou!" She shoveled the rest of her rice into her mouth, and gulped down a bowl of miso. "Again, thanks for the meal, Shirou! I can't wait for dinner!" She runs to the front door. "Bye, everyone~!" She yelled out the door, not waiting at all for a response.

Shirou gave yet another usual sigh at his energetic sister and slowly began to eat as well. He first grabbed the bowl of miso soup on the table and gave it a small sip... and blinked in surprise.

"...Huh..." This seemed to stop the two others that helped Shirou create this massive amount of food.

"W-What is it, Senpai?" She asked hesitantly, her eyes flickering between Shirou's confused and serious face, and the small bowl of soup.

"Yeah, what's wrong Emiya-kun?" Her voice, more straight-forward and blunt, still had a slight concerned tone hidden within.

"Huh? No, no. Nothing's wrong... it's just that..." His pause made them lean slightly forward, wanting to hear his answer.

"It... tastes great!" He said happily. "Who made it? Was it you Sakura? Or you Rin?"

Um... w-we both helped make it-" She's interrupted, unintentionally of course.

"Really? Well you should cook together more often. It sure beats whatever I could make." Sakura smiled brightly.

"Thank you, Senpai." A small blush of embarrassment on her face from the praise.

"Hmph..." Rin coughed also sporting a small satisfied smile. She coughs slightly into her hand, bringing everyone's attention to her. She looks to Shirou, her eyes no longer hold the annoyed yet happy look they usually have. Not cold, but she's no longer joking around.

"Anyway, back to the main problem..." Rin finally said. The mood shifted into a more serious one. "Emiya-kun... we still haven't finished with you and... Archer's conflicting pasts and explanations. We discussed this before and... we found it better to view your memories again, it would take too long for you to explain anyway so..." She said finally.

Shirou looked silently to the rest of the occupants at the table, each were giving him a slight nod, or a sad smile.

"Alright... I knew that this was going to happen eventually so..." Shirou closed his eyes, not really surprised to find his circuits have been reopened. "Hey Archer... it's time..." He heard a slight grunt in acknowledgment, he felt his mind slowly receding back into the recesses of his mind, slowly being lulled into a deep sleep...

His eyes reopen and he slowly slicks his hair back then crossing his arms over his chest. He would look exactly the same, if it wasn't for the red-hair and light skin. Rin notices that one eye is steel-grey, while the other is still a golden-brown color. She didn't have any time to ask about something as simple as that, it wasn't the main focus right now.

"Hmph... let's get going then..." He looks to Illya, and she slowly nods her head. She softly plants her hand on Shirou's head and begins to chant the familiar words.

"Here we go!" Illya yelled out, everyone's vision blackens out and they feel their minds transfer to Shirou's.

* * *

"Well... it certainly looks... better...?" Rin said uncertainty. She really couldn't really tell if it was better, or not. The area was still a void of blackness and a completely barren wasteland.

Besides the emptiness around her, she could see many crystallized mirror-like "memories" floating above them. She looks to Archer, who has returned to his original form, looking at them with his usual bored look.

"Well? What do you want to see? I have managed to bring back about... 15% of his original memories, but like I said before, I will still be limited to show you... specific ones, but the most recent ones are mostly here." He finished talking and raised his hand, ready to bring up another memory.

"W-Wait." Sakura suddenly says, Archer looks to her, his eyebrow is raised slightly in curiosity.

"Yes, Sakura Matou?" She fidgets slightly from his gaze.

"Can you bring Senpai here, A-Archer-san? I think it's rude to look at something so personal..." Her face reddens when she remembers _that _memory. "...without Senpai present..." He continues to look at her for a bit more, he soon gives a slight shrug.

"Alright... if you want that to happen then..." He smirks slightly, a sadistic edge is present on that smirk. He raises his hand and snaps his two fingers together. Everyone looks around and hears nothing... until they hear screaming that is certainly not high-pitched and full of complete terror.

"YOU BASTAREEEDDD!" They look up and notice a small dot falling from the "sky" They soon see the familiar red-haired boy, currently his arms and legs were flailing around in the air, trying to... swim around it seems...

"Onii-chan is falling _really_ fast!" Illya yelled out enthusiastically. An arm suddenly wraps around her neck and begins to choke her out.

"Oh really?! I didn't know that was happening right now you damn, Loli-brat!" Rin said venomously. Illya's leg suddenly shoots backward and hits Rin in the stomach. She lets go, but not before karate chopping Illya on her head.

Both were currently on the ground, both wriggling in pain.

"Nnnhh... I-I know what I said and I'm sticking with it you old hag! I just wanted to say something funny is all!" She had the sudden urge to look up, still hearing the screams that followed, she notices something peculiar, her eyes flashed for a split second and she turned around to talk again. "Nee, nee! Onii-chan's been falling for quite a long time! Maybe..._ too _long, right~?"

The way she said that... didn't sound right at all.

Rin gave a tired sigh, her hand rested on her forehead, she already feels a headache forming. "Archer... you're doing something completely useless and unnecessary, aren't you...? Rin asks, it took her a moment, but she also noticed something that caused him to fall for so long. He gives a small shrug, making her more annoyed with his typical answer.

Illya turns to look at Archer, giving him a scrutinizing glare. He looks back at her with his own bored stare. Steel grey-eyes bore into Ruby red-eyes. Archer, done with the glares he was getting, finally told the truth for once.

"Alright, alright you caught me..." He snapped his fingers and Shirou seemed to go even faster to the ground. The finally saw his terrified face as he got closer and closer... it seems he wasn't going to stop.

"Don't worry I'll catch him..." He snaps his fingers again and a bed of sword appear on the ground underneath him.

"PUT THOSE AWAY!" Rin screeches in surprise and terror. Archer chucked a bit, but soon relented and snapped his fingers again, making the bed of sword disperse into prana.

"Shirou, hold on!" Saber yelled as she ran forward, a quick burst of air behind her sent her rocketing forward. She looked to her left and noticed that Rider is next to her. "Stay back, Rider! Shirou is my Master! He is not your concern!" Rider did not back down.

"He may not be my concern, but my Master's orders are absolute... and I would gladly do something like this for Sakura." She moves faster and surges forward. Saber growls slightly and releases another burst of mana behind her, propelling her even faster.

They are neck-and-neck, a purple and black blur races against a blue and silver mass. Both reach their hands out to Shirou's rapidly falling form.

"Shirou!/Shirou!" Both voices rang out, making his face somehow becoming more panicked than before.

"Wait! Sto-!"

* * *

Shirou could feel his mind coming back from his unnatural sleep, and he had the sensation of... free falling?

His eyes snap open when he realized he was actually falling! He already knew who it was without a second thought, his frustration from before was boiling over, causing him to scream out in anger.

"YOU BASTAREEEDDD!" He also screamed from the sheer terror of the enormous height he's falling.

_"Okay, think Shirou. You're falling at an impossible height and you haven't reached the ground yet for some reason... it's probably Archer's doing isn't it...?" _He asked himself, he quickly shook his head. _"That doesn't matter right now! What I need to do is get Archer to stop this!"_

He looked to Archer and tried to direct his thoughts to Archer, forcibly pushing his prana through his mind. Archer turned his head slowly to Shirou, his eyebrow raised slightly.

He only got a smirk in return. A. God. Damn. Smirk.

Archer raised his hand and made a simple flick in the air, and Shirou felt like he reset mid-air... and fell for a bit more and reset again...

"What the hell's this feeling...?" He said. After a couple more seconds of thinking, sudden realization hit him. Archer has as much control of this body as he his, and he has to guess that he's somehow inside his mind... Archer is pulling the strings. It has to be simple for him, controlling a Reality Marble for who-knows-how-long, could easily enable him to continue and suspend him in the air.

So... he's stuck like this, stuck in this horrible cycle...

Like hell he's going to let this happen.

He closed his eyes and felt his circuits light up, blue sparks began to travel along his arms, he felt his breathing slow, his mind clear. All he had to do now was...

"Shirou!/Shirou!" And just like that, his concentration is broken and the prana gathered in his body dissapeared. He opens his eyes, and watched in horror as Rider and Saber were speeding toward him. He also noticed that he was finally reaching the ground, at a very fast rate as well... god damn you, Archer.

He turned his attention back to Rider and Saber, they were getting_ really _close now. So, he did what he was best at, at times like this anyway...

Panic.

"Wait! Sto-!" A purple and black blur slams into his face, and he's surprised that it's soft... before he could think about it more he's violently jerks around and feels something heavy and metallic slam into the back of his skull.

That... that did not feel good.

He lets the darkness consume his mind again, and it feels... nice for once, except for the part of not breathing. At all. Ah, oh well... time to snuggle into this warm body pillow, even if it was shaped a little... differently...

"Hmph, I win Saber." She cradles Shirou's limp body in her arms, and she feels his arms slowly snake around her body, firmly grasping her form. "My, my eager aren't we...?" She asks softly into his ear. She tilted her head slightly when she received no response. The other body that's there, recovers from having her armor shaken, suddenly makes a grab for Shirou, but Rider turns away using her superior speed to jump away from the angry lion.

"This was not a race Rider! Now unhand Shirou!" Saber asks venomously. Rider still ignores her and instead snuggles Shirou's face deeper between her supple bust. Saber's face heats up slightly from seeing such an... unfamiliar sight.

"Oh? Is that the real reason, Saber? I never took you for the jealous type, or is it that your lust for wanting to hold Shirou is too strong? To hold him in your arms, to feel his amazing muscles, _especially_ to feel his hot breath on your body, his arms firmly grasping, _touching _your body. it _must_ be killing you inside. Right... Saber~?" Her answer is immediate.

Saber's face is completely red, steam continues to radiate from her body, she's shaking visibly. Rider can hear her sputtering words, amusingly she can't think of anything to say. She looks up, her gaze is averted and she speaks softly, almost to a whisper.

"Th-that's n-not true, Rider..." She answers meekly. Huh, she sounds like... well, Sakura.

"B-Besides that, unhand Shirou! I won't ask again!" She notices that Shirou is not moving. "You're suffocating him, Rider!" She looks down and after a moment she sighs softly. She releases Shirou from the large valley and lifts him by putting her arms under his armpits, like a mother would to her baby. She sees color return to his face. Hmm... it seems Saber was right. Not that she would understand until she gains better "assets". Rider began to shake Shirou softly, she ignores Saber's growl of rage.

"Shirou, it's time to wake up..." She speaks soflty into his ear, he begins to stir and he slowly opens his eyes. He looks at Rider's beautiful face, not noticing his position.

"...W-Wha...?" Is his intelligent answer. Rider giggles softly at his idiotic yet adorable reply. Saber suddenly grabs Shirou and rips him from Rider's grip.

"Shirou, how... how do you feel?" Shirou shakes his head slightly and rubs the back of his head. He looks back to her and smiles softly.

"I'm fine Saber, just a bit of a headache is all..." He turns his head slightly. "Thank's Rider, although... you could have toned down the, ahem... other stuff." Rider slowly walks toward Shirou, and he feels his muscles tense from the sudden feeling of danger.

"What...? You mean you didn't like it? I'm hurt Shirou..." She leaned forward slightly, and Shirou quickly looks away, it was rather difficult to do so. His cheeks burn and he sputters words.

"W-Well I mean, y-you see..." Rider leans forward again, getting closer and closer. He felt his face heating up as she continued to get near him. He already ran out of things to say and instead silently turns around, confusing the two Servants.

He pushes max reinforcement through his body and quickly sprints back to the others. Ignoring the cries of surprise from the two behind him. He's going to get Archer for this, as soon as he could find him in this damn place.

He runs around for a bit until he notices the small group surrounded by... mirrors? He turns quickly and soon appears in-front of them, he's breathing heavily and his hands are on his knees, after calming down a bit he looks back to the group.

"Yo." He said simply, he walks closer to the group and notices a couple of strange things.

Sakura is looking at him with worry and... something else he couldn't understand. Rin is looking at him with clear annoyance, he could almost hear her calling him an idiot right now. He didn't bother thinking about Saber or Rider right now... and Illya...

"Onii-chan!" She runs and jumps into his arms, he stumbles back slightly from her sudden burst of affection. She looks at him with wide innocent eyes, making him falter and lose the uncomfortable feelings he would usually get from doing this.

"Are you okay, Onii-chan?" She asked sweetly. He smiles softly at her and soon remembers something rather important. Huh... he almost forgot that she's... older... than... him...

...

He felt his face heat up slightly when he thought about it a bit more, and the uncomfortable feeling returned a hundredfold. Illya knew that she was older than him and yet she was doing something like this...

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine Illya..." He pats her head softly and sets her down, she protests slightly and gives a small cute pout... geez, how can anyone be this cute?!

"Hmph... I didn't know you were into that sort of relationship, Shirou Emiya... and I find that highly disturbing to say the least." Archer said with an amused yet mocking tone.

Shirou's eyes hardened and he suddenly walked toward Archer, pushing softly past Illya and ignoring Sakura and Rin's questions for the time being, he doesn't care anymore, he didn't care for any negative outcomes, he didn't care how much time he's wasting right now. He just. Doesn't. Care.

He needed to blow off some steam and he knew the perfect way to do so.

Without warning he traced Kanshou and Bakuya and charged at Archer, bringing them forward to skewer the Red Knight. Archer only raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise and easily sidestepped his sloppy, yet straightforward charge. Archer quickly brought his leg forward and attempted to kick Shirou in his ribs.

Shirou quickly brought his arms downward and just barely blocked Archer's powerful kick. Even if he wasn't nearly as powerful as Saber, his kicks still felt like he was getting hit by a sledgehammer. But he's already felt a similar kick from a certain purple-haired Servant.

This doesn't hurt nearly as much.

He quickly planted his feet to the ground and de-traced the twin swords, quickly hooking his arm around Archer's leg that was still close to his side, much to his shock. Using a quick burst of prana through his arm and shoulder, he swung with all the force he could muster, sending Archer flying into the "air".

With another quick burst of prana, he sent reinforcement to his legs and jumped up to meet Archer's slightly falling form, he quickly brought his arms back, sending prana through his arms, making his arms glow with a powerful blue aura. In a couple of incredibly fast seconds, he retraced the twins swords and brought them down onto Archer.

Shirou Emiya was doing good, but Archer's still better.

Archer quickly righted himself in the air, and quickly reinforced his body perfectly, tracing the twin swords within a half a second and bringing them up to block Shirou's powerful swing, he felt his arms bend the slightest of amounts.

"Ho...? Impressive, Emiya Shirou... you caught me by surprise, but remember... surprises will only work once, and you won't get another chance like that!" Blocking both swords with his one was easy enough, he brought his arm back and shot it forward with the intent to kill.

Not that he would have... maybe...

Shirou quickly drew back one of his swords and slashed downward at Archer's, creating sparks when they collided. He felt his arm bend uncomfortably from the strain, he forgot that this is Archer at his full strength.

And he's toying with him right now...

Yet... he didn't care for that right now, the annoyance that would happen, the anger... it just didn't happen. Something... something else was happening right now... it's like... every time their blades clashed, he feels a much easier way to grasp and to wield those twin swords.

He already had an incredible grasp of how to use them, like every weapon he's encountered with, but... with these signature swords he uses... it felt like he was re-learning how to utilize them...

He felt many different stances he never knew to use, different ways to block, parry and strike. How much strength to use, and how to restrain his strength at crucial moments to give him an edge against other more powerful opponents...

He felt Archer's powerful blades stop pushing onto his own and he slowly looks up, seeing Archer's bored yet serious face. "Are you done with your little tantrum, Shirou Emiya?"

Shirou gives him another small glare, but silently nods, dispelling the twin swords tiredly, he had such an annoying headache from that strange encounter.

Shirou notices that everyone is silently watching and giving him looks of worry, he sighed and waved back to them, making looks of relief spread across their faces. He's slowly turning to walk back to them, but is soon interrupted, his movements stop when he hears the next couple words that were spoken.

"You saw it... didn't you?" Archer asked calmly. Shirou looks back and soon looked down to his hands, still seeing the faint glowing lines of prana coursing through his arms.

"I... I don't know what I saw..." Shirou said quietly. Archer nodded slightly, it seems that is an answer enough to satisfy his question.

"Hmm... besides that, I think I have an answer for what you experienced. Hell, even_ I_ felt that powerful experience, but we shouldn't dwell on this any longer, we can discuss this at a later date, we have wasted enough time as it is." As soon as he finished he turns and slowly walked back to the others.

Shirou watches the Red Knight's back and soon looks back to his hand, watching as the residual prana still continued to glow within his arm, he shook his head. Archer's right for once, he has wasted enough time as it is. He also turns and jogs slightly to catch up to Archer, soon walking at the same pace slightly behind him. He and Archer soon reach the others.

"Sorry everyone! I had to... vent some anger that, built up for a while, and Archer was already grating on my nerves so..." He laughed nervously when he saw the amused and surprisingly understanding looks from the others.

"Well now that, that is finished... shall we begin?" Archer said suddenly, nearly breaking the happy atmosphere that was surrounding everyone.

"Alright..." Rin spoke up, she looked between Archer and Shirou a bit nervously, she still seems like she can't get over that they are the same person. "Well... I don't know what to exactly ask, I have too many questions!"

Archer put his hand onto his chin and closed his eyes, putting a thoughtful expression on his face, he looks _exactly_ like Shirou right now.

"Well... if we have anywhere to begin, I... think we should start from the very beginning..." As soon as he said that, fire seemed to coat the surrounding area for a second. "If I start from the beginning, it should spark some questions that won't be sporadic and out of place." Archer said finally. He looked around and saw the small nods he got from each person in the group.

"Then it's time to begin..." He raised his hand slightly, an orange orb appears in his hand, it seemed to glow as bright as the sun. Everyone notices that Shirou, and even Archer seem to have an... almost serene expression on their faces, no... that couldn't explain it, but it was the best that could be understood, no one would understand besides them.

"...We're going to see_ that _one, huh...?" Shirou asks softly. Archer nods silently without looking toward Shirou, he turns a lone eye back to the others.

**"This is how the existence of Emiya Shirou was born." **He raised his hand and quickly slammed it into the ground, bathing the area in a powerful light.

* * *

Everyone's eyes flicker open and notice the scenery that they found themselves within, noticing that Archer and Shirou are watching with unblinking eyes, they could only describe this with a single, fitting word...

Hell.

All around them was fire, nothing but fire and death. Everywhere they looked, they saw people dying, either crying out to the heavens for help, and even some who were just standing still with a blank look on their face, their feet rooted to the ground, not caring for anything at all, letting the cursed fire consume them and turn their corpses into ash.

Unnoticed by the others, Saber's fist tightens, the metal encasing her hand groans with protest.

She was so close! If only _that_ man didn't...

Her anger soon leaves her, quickly being replaced by confusion as she watched Shirou's expression.

She saw... rage, pure and unconstrained rage towards the circular orb in the sky. It did... unnerved her a bit to be around here and see all this destruction and suffering, but after countless wars in her own time, it did little effect, but those deaths were caused by combat. This however was _slaughter_, innocent lives extinguished without warning. She continued to watch him, watching as his hands balled into tight fists or how he would grit his teeth hard enough that she could hear them grinding against each other. For him to be this angry... he's never been this angry...

_"What has truly happened to you, Shirou?" _She thought worryingly, she hesitantly reached out for his hand. To do something, anything to help ease his growing rage...

Meanwhile, the group continues to silently walk through the burned city. "Th-This is horrible..." Rin whispered, she remembers seeing the large fire ten years ago from her home, she always knew something was... wrong with that fire and it just rubbed her the wrong way, but this...?

Something caught her eye, and she looked down to her right. She felt her stomach turn when a barely distinguishable corpse of a woman literally began to melt in-front of her, falling apart as she still held the body of her dead child within those rotted arms.

"What did you expect? Though, I can't blame you, I can only think of a few people who have gone through something as similar as this." Archer said a little bluntly, he looked to the sky. "Hmph, all this destruction caused by such a little thing..." He said quietly to himself.

The small group, besides Saber, looks up and noticed the black circular opening in the sky, the red outline surrounding it gave it an eerie glow. They watched as the black sludge oozed out of the hole and consumed everything it touched. It flowed down specific paths, almost as if it were... sentient...

Illya felt it... deep within her core, she felt it. She tried every possible explanation, she screamed in her mind to say it wasn't true... but it was inevitable... it is what she_ will_ become in the end of the war.

Just like mama...

Archer continued to silently watch every person's expressions, varying from grief, fear, and anger. As if he was reading their minds, he began to speak up, catching their attention. "That cursed thing chased every person down with the twisted command for everything to _disappear_..." He said with disgust.

"Why would anyone command it to do that?! More importantly, what the hell is that thing?!" Rin yelled in anger, anger she felt from the slaughter she witnessed before her.

"Take a guess as to what that is." Archer said, while he looked directly at her. Before she could answer, Illya suddenly spoke with a voice filled with fear and anger.

"Th-That is the _**Holy Grail**_... s-something must have happened to it, during one of the wars..." Her pale white skin seems to have gotten whiter somehow, they could see how much she was shaking in fear.

Sakura was too shocked to speak right now, she could also feel the effects of that cursed grail deep in her core, she soon felt a reassuring hand from Rider, and she gave a smile back in thanks.

Archer's stern gaze softened immediately when he saw Illya like this, he silently walked in front of her and blocked her view of the accursed grail. If he were Emiya Shirou right now, he would have probably went down to hug her, or something.

"My memory of the event is a bit fuzzy, but sometime during the Third Holy Grail War, the Einzbern's attempted to "cheat", wanting to kill the other Master's and Servant's immediately, they replaced the Berserker Class with what they called, the _**Avenger Class**_. But they realized too late that it was practically useless in combat and was killed immediately, soon it was trapped inside the Holy Grail..." His gaze hardened once again, he felt someone brush up against him and hold onto his pant leg, but he ignored it for now.

"But that's when everything went to _shit_. His very existence alone corrupted the grail system, making it so that no wish could be made, without some sort of devastating consequence." He said slowly, he finally looked down and noticed that Illya was the one holding onto his leg, who else could it be?

He paused for a moment but, he hesitantly reached out and rested his hand on her head, she looked up at him with surprise present in her eyes, but soon her feelings of fear turning into a feeling of reassurance and safety.

Rin soon had a thoughtful expression on her face. "So, if I were to wish for all the fortune in the world, it would grant my wish, but bankrupt every person in the entire world, plunging it into chaos?" Archer had the smallest hints of approval in his gaze, and gave a small nod. She seemed to hesitate with her next question. "A-And if I wished to finally attain _Akasha_?"

"You would probably cause the extinction of the entire human race." She flinched from his blunt tone. "Instead of normally being allowed to enter the root, your cursed wish would attempt to absorb all the prana in the world, killing all magi and normal humans, and it would instead "punch" a hole into the root. You would then probably be killed viciously by a higher power for trespassing." He didn't add that he could be a possible candidate for that killing blow.

Damn you Alaya...

"So the Holy Grail is useless, huh...?" She said quietly to herself. Everyone chose not to comment any further, they soon heard rustling from a part of the hellish scenery.

"So, he finally arrived, huh?"

Meanwhile...

"Shirou...?" Saber called out to him, she slowly reached out and grabbed his tense hand, he suddenly jerked back and sharply turned his gaze to her, she almost flinched from the ferocity and anger burning in those golden-brown eyes.

Shirou quickly relaxed and his gaze gained a guilty look. "Sorry, about that Saber..." He rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment. She shakes her head and gives him a look of understanding.

"No need to worry Shirou, this place must make you uncomfortable, I should apologize startling you." He meets her gaze and silently nods in thanks.

"Alright, with that settled let's head back to Archer and the others." He noticed that they aren't too far away, and with a light jog, they should arrive in time. Shirou and Saber quickly catch up to the group and they hear the last bit of the conversation.

"So the Holy Grail is useless, huh...?" Shirou heard Rin say. Saber immediately frowned, she was about to open her mouth to ask, until she stops suddenly. Her gaze becomes ice cold, and she looks to the figure slowly walking towards them.

"So, he finally arrived, huh?" Archer said softly. They watched as a tall figure stumbled into view.

He appeared to be about middle aged, somewhat average looks with messy black hair and a bit of stubble was present on his chin. He wore a black coat suit, with a matching black tie, and black dress shirt, with black shoes and pants. Nothing really standing out besides his blank onyx black eyes. He looked so... broken, he continued to silently shuffle through the ash and rubble.

His name is **Kiritsugu Emiya**.

"Tou-san..." Shirou said softly, the others turned to look at Shirou, their surprise present on their faces, besides Archer, Saber and Illya. It's been a long time since he truly saw his father. He watched as Kiritsugu silently stopped searching through the pile of rubble and soon gave another ragged sigh as he got up. He slowly stumbled along until he stopped in front of Shirou, his gaze going through Shirou as he continued to look around for survivors.

"..." Shirou could almost smell the ash and blood that clung to his foster father.

Kiritsugu's broken, and dead stare suddenly brightened up with hope and he ran right through Shirou. He turned around to see what caught his fathers eye and what he saw didn't surprise him.

He ran right up to the younger Shirou that recently fell to the ground. "A survivor!" Kiritsugu said, immense relief was present in his voice. "Please work..." He said, he raised his hands, and soon they were enveloped in a golden light so powerful that it caused the others to turn away.

All expect Saber.

"That's my..." She said softly, a tone of disbelief was clear in her tone. She turned her gaze to Shirou, but he was too preoccupied by the scene before them. She would have to ask him, or... Archer about this later.

As soon as the bright light disappeared into the younger Shirou, he appeared to be breathing again. "He's alive!" Tears began to fall from Kiritsugu's face, he brought Shirou's small hand into his own. "He's alive! H-He's alive... thank god..." Kiritsugu grabbed Shirou and gave him a tight hug, the heavy rain continued to pelt down on them, but nothing else mattered at the moment.

Little Shirou's eyes slowly close into unconsciousness as he was held by this strange man...

_"Could I be that happy...?"_

With a flick of Archer's hand, they warped to what appears to be a hospital, a patients room to be more specific.

"Whoa!" Little Shirou suddenly sat up in his bed, he blinks his eyes rapidly to adapt to the bright lights, he soon looked around in confusion. "Where am I?" He finally recognizes where he is, and he slowly relaxes. A bit of time passes and soon enough Kiritsugu enters the room, he smiles warmly to him and sits down on the adjacent bed.

"Hello there, you must be Shirou-kun." He said again with that warm tone in his voice.

Shirou continued to look at him suspiciously before nodding.

"Look, Shirou. I'll be blunt, what do you prefer? Do you want to go to the local orphanage, or do you want to be adopted by a complete stranger that you don't know anything about?"

Shirou thinks for a moment, but quickly nods that he wants to go with him.

A bit of tension leaves Kiritsugu's body and he gives a sigh of relief. "That's great! Get ready quickly, you should see your new place as soon as possible." Shirou quickly changes into the clothes the hospital gave him and he walks out of the room with his new father. They walk slowly out of the hospital, his hand holding Kiritsugu's own.

"Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you something important."

He turns and looks down at Shirou. _"I am a magician."_

The scene once again warps and they see little Shirou appearing to be a bit older and Kiritsugu... he looks haggard, his once healthy skin color is now pale as snow. His facial features and body losing almost all the muscle he originally had, he's nearly skin and bones. They are both sitting on the deck and watching the night sky.

"Hey, Old Man! Quit dozing off!" Shirou said with false annoyance. "If you're going to sleep, go do it in your bed, Jii-san..." He said teasingly.

Kiritsugu gave a weak chuckle. "Right... don't worry I'm alright..." They continued to sit in silence until he decided to speak up again. "When I was little, I always wanted to be a hero."

"What? You _wanted_ to be one? Did you give up or something?" Kiritsugu gave another small nod.

"Yeah... it's unfortunate, being a hero is a limited-time thing, when you grow older it becomes harder and harder to call yourself one. I realized that too late..." Kiritsugu's voice seemed to become weaker.

"Hmm... that's too bad." Shirou said.

"Indeed, you're absolutely right..." He soon looked up to the sky and noticed the large white moon above. "Ah... the moon's really nice tonight..."

"Yeah." He agreed, but it seemed like he agreed with more than one thing. "I've decided. Since you couldn't do it, I'll do it for you." Kiritsugu's waning attention turned to Shirou. "You're too old now, so you can't do it." He pointed to himself. "But I can! Leave it to me... Your dream!"

Kiritsugu seemed to slink even further in his seat and he slowly closed his eyes. "Yeah... I'll leave it up to you now..." He whispers that last part. Shirou looks to his father's still form.

"Old man?"

"..." He gives no reply.

"Kiritsugu...?" He still doesn't get a reply, Shirou looks back to the bright moon, tears begin to cascade down his face. "I'll become a hero for sure..."

_"No matter what."_

* * *

The scene changes back into the empty void. "Well? Is that enough to answer your questions?" Archer asked.

Rin slowly shakes her head as she continues to think. "If anything, it only opens more, but that can be another time. I feel satisfied enough with today's answers, do you guy agree as well?" She watches as everyone slowly nods to her question, her eyes lock with Shirou's for a moment before she turns back to Archer. "How much time do we have left?"

"Hmm... it's just about to reach the limit, you should leave now." He said dismissively to them. "We can do this again, but I grow tired of doing this so much, just ask Shirou directly, or myself, and at least wait a couple of days if you really want to do this again." With that, Archer disappeared and left them alone in the void of Shirou's mind, the group looked to each other and nodded before leaving as well.

Everyone's eyes slowly fluttered open as they returned to the physical world. "Well... I think that is enough for today, we should all take a small break for now and-" Whatever Rin was about to say, she cut herself off.

"Emiya-kun." She said seriously. He looked to her and noticed that a part of her arm was glowing, it wasn't connected to her magic crest, but it was pulsing slightly. What could that be?

"Caster's_ awake._"

**Author's Notes:**

**H-Hey everyone... please don't kill me. I know I was gone for far too long and I have a good explanation I swear! I told in my update that I recently started going to college and told you how it was quite challenging... well it got worse. I now have to deal with a class that I am nearly failing, and plus still stacked up on that is all the work I still have to do, plus the job I have at college and it doesn't help with the situation.**

**Also... just a few weeks ago, my father was diagnosed with cancer. Some type of mouth cancer, we didn't know he had it, he always complained about pain in his mouth, and my mother told me he had that pain for over 5 years. Every idiot doctor he went to didn't know what it was, and though it was only an infection or fungus.**

**It was not until they went to a specialist where they determined it was cancer. I don't know what stage it is, but based off of the pictures and stories online that I read and looked at, his chances still look good, hopefully. **

**He's going to get his PET scan soon to determine how good, or bad it is. So with college not going so well and my dad's cancer scare, it's putting an unbelievable amount of stress on me.**

**I'd like to apologize again for not being here, and expect the next chapter... I don't know when, but I really hope I don't do this again, and sorry for leaving it at a cliffhanger. **

**It's good to be back, and as always have an awesome day!**


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